Icewater
by Myomi-chan
Summary: "You know, for a mermaid, your boobs are small." "Why, you-!" Add a shipwreck, hunters, witches, and a sinister plot to rule both land and sea, and Sakura's got her hands full. "I hate you, Uchiha!" SasuSaku.
1. The Prophecy

**Icewater**

Chapter 1: The Prophecy

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does. Also, this is loosely based off of The Little Mermaid, so that's not mine, either. Enjoy!**

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The sunlight streamed through the water, shimmering above and illuminating the sea floor below. A clam lay, relaxing, covered in moss.

It was that poor little clam's misfortune to be within the range of a flipping tail.

A pink and green blur zoomed past, and the clam was knocked over by the mermaid's tail. Sakura turned, not stopping, and watched the shell settle back down on the sand.

"Oops," she mumbled sheepishly, and then called out so it would hear her retreating form, "Sorry about that!" And then Haruno Sakura flipped back towards the front, swimming speedily along.

_What am I even doing?_ she wondered. _I've got no reason, really, to be away from the castle._

_**You're out and about because you **_**wanna**_** be,**_ said a different voice in her head. **That** _**should be reason enough!**_

Sakura sighed, mentally rolling her eyes. Her alter ego, whom she had long ago dubbed 'Inner Sakura,' was yet again being a stuck-up fool. She had duties she needed to attend to at the castle. She _was_ the Princess, after all.

_**So?**_ countered Inner Sakura. _**That place is stuffy and boring. Being out here, free, it's worth any punishment we may get.**_

Sakura reluctantly had to agree. The water outside the castle was much warmer, and the open space - as opposed to the enclosing coral walls - gave her a rush of euphoria that she never experienced anywhere else. She put her pale arms out in a stretch, feeling her hair floating behind her. Her green flipper reflected the bright sunshine, creating a bit of a rainbow effect on her pearl-pink shell-top. Being free - albeit only temporarily - was one of the best feelings.

_**Why don't we just never go back?**_

_WHAT?_

Where had that treacherous thought come from? _No_, thought Sakura, brushing her Inner's suggestion away, _My place is here. I'm needed._

She well remembered when her Mother would brush her hair, calmly combing the pink tangled birds nests out of the little girl's head.

_"Sakura," her mother would say, "Would you like to hear a legend?"_

_"Yes," little Sakura would squeak. "Please."_

_Her Mother's words carried a small smile with them._

_"Very well," she would say. "Once upon a time, a little Princess was born. She grew up to be the most beautiful mermaid in all the world. But an evil sorcerer planned to overthrow Oceanica, the mermaid's kingdom, and kill the Princess. So she swam away. She fled until she saw brightly-colored sunlight that drew her above the water."_

_"Why would she go up to the surface, Mother?" Sakura would interrupt. Her Mother hushed her quietly, and continued._

_"She saw a Prince, and she fell in love with him. He took her in to his castle, but since she was above water, the Princess could not speak."_

_"See what I mean?" Sakura would say. "Stupid."_

_"...The Prince became engaged to another woman, and, her heart broken, the Princess threw herself back to the ocean, deciding to fight for her underwater nation or die trying. The Prince saw her transform back into a mermaid though, and, mystified, he followed her in his ship. As the sorcerer prepared to kill her, the Prince shot a harpoon, impaling the evildoer. Oceanica was saved, and the Princess eventually married someone who would love her, and ruled her water kingdom with wisdom, as the Prince did his on land. The two worlds were finally at peace with one another."_

_"Why didn't the Prince marry the Princess?" Sakura would always ask. Her mother would put the brush down and cup her daughter's cheek with her palm._

_"I don't know," the Queen would say, the sadness in her eyes contrasting with the smile gracing her face, "I don't know."_

It was not until the Queen had died that her daughter had realized the Princess in the story was herself.

_**Earth to Sakura!**_

Sakura snapped back to reality.

_**Look out!**_

Sakura saw a rocky wall blocking her path. She yelped and sped to a stop so she wouldn't slam into it.

_Nice save_, she thought. _Thanks, Inner._

_**No problem,**_ replied her alter ego. _**You know ya love me!**_

Sakura peered at the rocks in front of her with mild interest. The borders of Oceanica and the Outwaters, the unclaimed territories of the seas, were supposedly blocked by stone walls. Gates were stationed to regulate and monitor the flow of traffic going in and out o her kingdom, but obviously, no gate was by this particular wall.

It struck Sakura that she must have been swimming for a long time to have reached a border. Of course, it was certainly plausible, when taking water currents into consideration, but that just made matters worse.

"Agh!" she yelled, turning around and assessing the situation.

"Okay, Sakura," she told herself, "First, let's see where we are."

She swam up, closer to the surface water. It was warmer still up here, but she did not have time to relish the sensation. She had to squint to make out the castle. It was a long way off, at least four or five sand-lots.

She hesitantly turned her face up to the surface waters.

The sunlight was a lot brighter up here. She once again squinted, finally deciding that, based on where the sun was and the angle at which the sunlight was shining, it was late afternoon.

She would be late for dinner if she didn't manage to catch a water current back home. And it'd have to be a fast one. She realized now she must have been out for at least a few hours; if she wasn't back soon (which she wouldn't be, she begrudgingly admitted) her fin-maidens would begin to worry. And if her Father found out...

She pushed the thought aside.

_**Not the time for worrying,**_ said Inner Sakura. _**Let's just get there as soon as possible. **_And for once, Sakura agreed with her.

She hurriedly swam away from the border, searching for a current to swim back home on.

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"You're late."

It was more of a question than a statement.

"Yes, Father," said Sakura, sliding into her chair. She pretended not to have heard the tone in his voice that asked, "Why?"

There was a pregnant pause before Jiraiya spoke again.

"Sakura," he said reproachfully. Sakura hastily put a handful of seaweeberries in her mouth so she would be unable to answer him. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"We will discuss the matter at a later time," he said, "But today, our cousins from the West are here."

Sakura turned and met blue, sprightly eyes.

"Naruto!" she said before thinking. Inner Sakura mentally facepalmed, letting out a groan.

"Sakura." Jiraiya's voice could cut stone with how cold it was. "Please refrain from rude outbursts."

"It's okay, Jiraiya," said another commanding voice. King Minato grinned. "We're all friends here, and they're just children."

Jiraiya sent a glare at his daughter before smiling back.

"Yes, she is still a child yet."

_Oooookay. For some reason, I don't think he means the same thing King Minato did,_ thought Sakura. Inner Sakura agreed; she stuck her tongue out at the King of Oceanica.

"Hey, Dad," came an obnoxiously loud male whisper. "Why'd he call us cousins? We're not co-"

Minato coughed loudly and Naruto let out an "oof."

Jiraiya laughed then, spreading his arms.

"Let's continue eating," said Jiraiya.

Sakura tossed Naruto an elated glance; he returned it with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and a wide grin.

_**It's been a while,**_ said Inner Sakura. _**Whoo, boy, look at those musc-**_

_Shut. Up._

_**Sheesh, Pinky, what's wrong with using our **_**eyes?**

_I said shut up!_ Sakura said to her Inner. Then Sakura looked at her plate and grimaced.

_Seaweed sandwiches._

Of course. It figured.

She hated seaweed.

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"So," said Naruto, flipping over so he was upside down facing her, "he meant cousins by species, not by birth?"

Sakura nodded, grateful the boy had finally caught on. It was night now; the moon reflected her beams in the water, and the ocean was a deep, rich hue of silvery-blue now that stars twinkled above her. Sakura and Naruto were - naturally - breaking curfew to hang out on the roof. It didn't take much. A pearl or two were prefect bribes, and the guards were always more lax in their duty within the castle itself anyways. Sakura herself was resting on the roof, but Naruto was too hyper to settle down for long.

"Okay, I get it then!" The blonde merman grinned his signature smile, and Sakura returned it.

Naruto flipped back upright and swam up; his sudden movement made Sakura tilt her head quizzically at him.

"What are you doing?" she called. He turned and faced her.

"Everything's much bigger up here," he called back. "C'mere, Sakura!"

Sakura got out of her resting position and swam to his side. He excitedly - like always, he was happy about everything - took her shoulders and turned her until he deemed she was in the right position to see from.

She looked down.

"What're you talking about, idiot?" she said. "Everything's so much smaller."

Naruto shook his head.

"No, no, look at _everything_," he said. He swept his hand out and gestured at the homes and sand surrounding the castle. "Up close, the castle seems so.. _normal,_" he said, "and it's like that's all there is of your kingdom. But from up here, suddenly Oceanica is a lot bigger, huh?"

Sakura shook her head.

"No," she said, "it's not. Look, see?" She pointed. "The castle is about as tall as the birder stones. And look at the houses -" her finger moved -" they're only a little taller than long seaweed plants!"

Naruto shrugged.

"Well, then we see the world differently from afar," he remarked. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. Naruto shrugged back, grinning.

"Oh, there isn't one," he said. "I just wanted to know if it was just me who felt so small compared to the kingdoms."

Sakura grinned at him.

"Well, you are, then," she said teasingly. They floated there in the water, admiring Oceanica from above. Sakura saw a flash of orange and smiled softly to herself. Naruto, from Atlantica, had a slightly different fin than she; unlike hers, his had decorative tissue (the useless kind only meant for show) around the edges. Life in Atlantica was more relaxed and overall sportier; Oceanica was a no-nonsense, tense kingdom. The fins had developed over centuries, and the subtle differences could tell you a lot about where a certain merman or mermaid came from: what temperatures they were accustomed to, what predators roamed the waters of their homeland, the amount of sunshine that reached their domain, and much more. Colors varied, but Sakura knew vibrant colors like Naruto's orange and Minato's yellow were generally reserved for more coastal, equator-dwelling merfolk; her own somewhat bright green came from the fact that her mother had been a noblewoman from Atlantica. Their kingdoms were friendly towards each other for a number of reasons (that being only one).

Sakura wistfully looked at Naruto's handsome features and couldn't help but wonder what their future might have been had she not been involved in the prophecy.

_No, Sakura,_ she scolded herself, _There's no time for what if's. I must face my future for the people of Oceanica._

_**A daydream or two never hurt anyone, though, did they?**_ asked her Inner hopefully. Sakura shushed her other self and focused on preserving every detail of this night carefully; after all, they might not get another chance lime this for a long time.

She had no way of knowing Naruto had a similar war raging in his head; she would never know, because unbeknownst to either merperson, the wheels of the prophecy had already begun.

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**AN: Thanks for reading! Please review!**


	2. Watch Me

**Icewater**

**Chapter 2: Watch Me**

**Disclaimer: No own, no sue. Yey. Carry on.**

**Merry Christmas, y'all.**

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Sakura was woken up in her comfortably furnished bedroom by none other than her Father.

It took a moment for it to register.

"Dad!" she yelled, sitting up. "Get out!"

"Sakura, we must talk," replied Jiraiya, sitting down on the side of her bed. Sakura groaned and flopped back into her plush oyster bed. She was tired. She did _not_ want to deal with this-

"It's about your behavior these past few days."

Sakura remained silent.

_Go away, go away,_ she chanted in her head.

_**Fat chance of **_**THAT,**_** honey,**_ replied her Inner.

_Oh, so you woke up this morning? _Sakura snapped at it.

_**Well, I couldn't exactly sleep through this, now could I?**_

_Quit it,_ grumbled Sakura inwardly. _Can't you tell I'm trying to _FOCUS_ here?_

_**You mean **_**NOT****_ focus._**

"SAKURA."

She whipped her face up to glare at her Father.

"_What_?" she growled. Her Father scowled at her attitude; it was early and he did not want to deal with it.

"Where were you yesterday?"

Sakura refrained from rolling her eyes.

"Here," she replied innocently, gesturing around her room.

Jiraiya's eye twitched.

"Yesterday _evening_," he amended. Both Sakura and her Inner grimaced darkly.

This is _not_ working out, she told her other half; Inner Sakura could only groan and bang on he head with he fists.

_**We are **_**SO****_ screwed!_**

"Sakura," said Jiraiya sharply, "My patience is waning. Answer me."

Sakura took a deep breath.

"I was swimming outside."

She steeled herself.

"_WHAT?_" screamed Jiraiya, his eyes growing wide. "Haruno Sakura, you know that is _strictly_ forbidden! You are not allowed outside! Tell me, what on _EARTH_ convinced you to _DO_ such a thi-"

"Because you never let me!" snapped Sakura. Before Jiraiya could retaliate, Sakura handed the reigns to her Inner, letting go of her control. "Ever since Mom died, I have _NEVER_ escaped these walls! Not to visit neighboring colonies, not to look at the gardens the villagers grow, not even to see the seas I will rule one day!" She flung herself from her bed, whirling around to face her Father, her pink hair whipping about her. "If I so much as _SNEEZE_ near the walls of the castle, I'm taken back to this _STUPID ROOM_!" Sakura picked up a fragile coral decoration resting on her wall. "And I _HATE IT!_" She flung the piece to the opposite wall, where it smashed to bits.

"Sakura-"

"Ever since Mom died-"

"Sakura-"

"-_You_ have _never let me go back outside!"_

**"_SAKURA!_"**

Jiraiya's scream came while Sakura gasped for breath from her tirade.

"Your Mother _DIED_ outside these walls," screamed Jiraiya. "I will not lose both of you!"

Sakura's wild eyes softened.

"Daddy..." she said softly. For a moment, Jiraiya looked as if he might embrace her; for a moment, Sakura thought they could both cry together. But then Jiraiya's face closed her out, his emotions hidden behind his cold mask yet again.

"You _will not_ leave this castle," said the King. "And if you _ever_ disobey me again," he said, "I will retain you here _by force_ and you will _NEVER_ see the sunlight again, even streaming through the water!"

With that, Jiraiya wheeled around and swam away before he could see the startled expression on his daughter's face.

He was not there to see her scrunch her facial features up in anger, nor witness her eyes gain a rebellious glimmer.

"Watch me," she spat, and in a flash of pink and green, Sakura slid out of her window and swam up. She passed Naruto's room. She heard an exclamation from him and swam faster, angling herself to pass through the sharp coral barrier encompassing the castle. She heard the blonde yell her name, but did not stop; she swam straight through the barbed coral and then turned towards the Outwaters border she had come across the day before.

_Fine,_ she thought angrily. _If you won't show me the real world, then I'll go there myself!_

_**Uhh, Earth to Sakura?**_ said Inner Sakura. _**We're **_**DEAD MEAT**_** if we go out there!**_

_Oh, quit complaining,_ Sakura scolded. _You're always the rebellious one, _she pointed out,_ so shouldn't you be enjoying this?_

_**No,**_ replied her Inner, _**Because our Dad is seriously **_**PISSED**_** at us right now! Seriously, Sakura, turn around! I've got this bad feeling...**_

Sakura shrugged the unnerving worry in the back of her mind off. _It's nothing,_ she told her other self.

_**It's **_**SOMETHING,**_** Sakura,**_ replied Inner Sakura quietly. _**You and I both recognize it. It's-**_

"I said shut_ UP_!" Sakura yelled. She closed her eyes, slowing her pace, caught her breath, calmed her frustration, and opened her eyes. _I said shut up,_ she thought to herself, in control once more. _Now leave me alone, or make yourself useful and keep an eye out._

_**Fine,**_ grumbled Inner Sakura resignedly. _**But don't say I didn't try.**_

Sakura refrained from shivering at the soft implications that came along with her Inner's words and tried to forget them. She looked around her, determined her location, and set out again.

_The search party dad will send out won't think of crossing to the Outwaters until they've searched under every rock and shell of Oceanica,_ she told herself, seeing the border on the distance. _By then, I'll be back._

Sakura heard the distinctive sighing sound of a water current above her and swam up to it. immediately, she was swept away, being led closer to the border at a faster pace than she could ever muster with her fin alone. She went even faster by adding her own motion, flapping her tail to swim quicker through the current. Time passed, and Sakura could almost relax in the warmth and constant movement of the water rushing around her. In what seemed like no time at all, the rocks of the border loomed, and Sakura angled herself. With a plop, she pushed herself out of the current, spiraling from the sudden difference in water speed around her; the still water took a moment of getting used to after riding a current. She hurried over to the wall. She swam up and over.

Endless amounts of sand and water met her eyes as she passed into the Outwaters.

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_**Sakura, look!**_

Sakura turned to the direction her Inner pointed to wearily. She had slowed drastically in her pace; the Outwaters were cold and empty, and Sakura had been wandering for hours now with no real purpose aside from _NOT_ going home.

She gasped.

There, in the distance, lay something big.

Something old.

Something WOODEN.

Sakura hurried over, her tiredness forgotten.

_What is it?_ asked Sakura as she neared it.

_**Oh, you know perfectly well what it is, Pinky.**_

Sakura finally noticed a long, wooden pole in the middle, along with a holey, moss-covered piece of cloth.

"A ship," she breathed. She swam up to the top, circling the lookout post before going back down to where the mast connected to a floor of some sort. Sakura tentatively touched her flipper to the wood and shivered; it was colder than coral, and much sturdier, she was sure. She giggled, and, taken by a childish whim, pretended to be a human, traversing the deck upright on her fin.

That is, until a sharp pain on the edge of her flipper made her yelp and curl up. She examined the edge of her fin to find a minuscule piece of wood stuck on her.

_**Haha,**_ teased Inner Sakura as the outward Sakura winced while pulling it out, _**A splinter!**_

Sakura peered around, slightly deterred by the wood now.

_I can't believe it,_ Sakura thought excitedly. _It's just like Mother always described!_

_**Yeah,**_ replied her alter ego, with equal enthusiasm. _**Maybe there's treasure! Maybe it's a pirate ship!**_

Sakura explored, going below deck and into the cabins and storage rooms. She only stopped after coming across a floating pile of moss that looked suspiciously like a skeleton. She finally returned to the surface of the ship, longingly admiring the beauty of the wood; it was blackened and rotted in (many) places, and collapsed in at others, but she loved how sleek the dark wood looked despite it's obvious old age.

_It must have been very elegant in its day._

_**It must have been **_**SCARY****_ in its day._**

But the light from above her was telling Sakura that, once again, it was late noon, and her stomach was begging for food. Sakura reluctantly left the ship in it's lonely rest on the sand of the Outwaters, taking note of its location so she would know where it was. She swam back home, stopping only to eat a few seaweeberries off a seaweed bush near the coral gates of the castle.

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Sakura was prepared for the worst when she got home. She was feeling a little guilty, to be honest; and the worry from earlier had returned the closer she came to home.

Well, she told herself, bracing herself as she swam down, preparing to enter her room. Here goes.

A pair of hands grabbed her before she could continue her descent to her bedroom window.

Sakura would have screamed if she hadn't recognized Naruto's tanned arms.

"What do you...?" she began. Naruto grinned.

"Welcome back," he said. "I covered for ya."

Sakura gaped.

"_WHY?_" she asked.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, shrugging nervously.

"Ahh, well, you know," he said, stumbling with his words, "I really li-"

"What did you do?" she asked. Naruto blinked, then grinned.

"Oh, I told them we were on the roof. The guards believed me." Naruto's grin widened. "I'm broke, but I'm pretty sure they all 'saw' us up there." He wiggled a near-empty frog-shaped moss wallet in he face.

Sakura stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, Naruto, you're hilarious!" she giggled, momentarily holding herself up with her hand on his shoulder before giving up and flopping to the ground. Naruto chuckled a little too.

"And dinner's gonna be later," Naruto added. "There's some guest who arrived that your dad didn't want to bother us with."

Sakura stopped laughing.

"Who?" she asked. Her Dad rarely postponed meals for business, even important matters concerning Oceanica's present or future.

Naruto shook his head.

"Dunno," he replied. "But my Dad said he didn't like the vibe the dude gave off."

"Huh," was the only sound Sakura made. She was puzzled. Why would her Father...?

"So, hey, what were you doing out there?" asked Naruto. Sakura smiled at him, pushing the strange happening out of her head for now.

"Oh," she said, "I went to the Outwaters."

"_WHAT?_" yelled Naruto, eyes bulging. "And you left _ME_ here?"

Sakura laughed.

"That's not all, though," she said. "I saw a-"

The door banged open. Jiraiya was panting.

"Naruto!" he yelled. "Leave!" His eyes met Sakura's.

She was confused. Why was he...?

Alarm bells rang in her head.

There had been a day once, when her Mother had said the same thing to her. They had been outside the castle walls, being chased by someone her Mother had once known.

The worried feeling she had fluctuated to pure terror.

"Sakura," Jiraiya said. "Swim. Go. _NOW!_"

Naruto protested, but Sakura stayed, stunned into silence.

"Daddy...?" she whispered.

He opened his mouth.

And suddenly a black rod pierced through him. The King's eyes widened, locked on to Sakura's horrified green ones. Blood gushed from the wound, sticky and dissipating into the surrounding water.

"Swim," he whispered back to her.

And then his eyes went blank.

Sakura screamed.

Naruto yanked her arm, and all she could do was follow, letting survival instincts take over.

"Long live Orochimaru!" yelled the voice of the orange-haired man who had run her Father through as she and Naruto swam full-speed through the barbed coral of the castle walls. Sakura felt a bramble slice across her arm; she flinched but payed it no other special attention.

Inner Sakura whispered something to her. Directions, something Sakura would not have been able to manage in her panic.

Naruto held her hand. She tightened her grip on his. Knowing she was not alone, that Naruto was here, calmed her enough to think rationally.

"Follow me," she said, leading the way.

The current was still there. They hopped into it, letting it slip them farther away from danger.

Sakura knew where she was going, where she was leading Naruto, where they would be safe for a while, where no one would look for them.

The shipwreck.

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**AN: Review, darnit! I feel unloved! (lol) Hope you enjoyed!**

**What happened to Sakura's mother will be revealed next chapter, and the second part of the prophecy will begin! Happy holidays to all of you!**


	3. The Queen

**Icewater**

Chapter 3: The Queen

**Disclaimer: I own Naruto - I lied just now.**

**Darn you all, review! You get lumps of coal if you don't! (For those of you who have reviewed, may your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white!)**

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Sakura woke up groggily. Her back ached and her arm stung. Why?

She looked around.

Her eyes met wood.

With a sharp intake of breath, everything that had happened the day before rushed back to her.

Tears welled in her eyes as she looked over to see a blonde merman with a bright orange tail curled up a short distance away from her, snoring.

She remembered her Father's blank eyes as he died.

And she remembered her Mother's vibrant eyes fading to dull too...

_No,_ she thought, shaking her head. _I can't think of that stuff._

_**Agreed, Pinky.**_

_Up early again, I see?_

_**We couldn't sleep well last night. Wood hurts.**_

Inner Sakura was right.

_"Naruto," said Sakura, pulling him to the ship, "We'll stay here tonight."_

_Naruto frowned._

_"Okay," he said. "But where are we gonna sleep?"_

At first, they tried pulling what was left of the mast down, but it was tied in a strong material (_"Rope,"_ Naruto had called it, _"That's what the humans make their nets out of back in Atlantica."_) so intricately and tightly that the two eventually gave up, settling tiredly on hastily-gathered moss and seaweed pillows.

Sakura was now picking said pillow out of her hair disgustedly as she swam about to stretch her sore muscles and body. She finally decided that, since it was early morning, she should find some breakfast for her and her male companion. It would keep her mind off of her memories...

She took the moss from her hair and began knitting it together, weaving it as she debated where to check first: the ship or the surrounding waters. She swam about the ship, this time pushing past the mossy skeleton, but her efforts only produced two mushrooms that might or might not be edible.

So she swam around the Outwaters, keeping the ship within her view, and found a seaweeberry bush. She carefully finished crafting the moss basket, and then proceeded to pick the berries. She was careful to pick only blue ones; the green were still unripe, and the purple were overripened. The underripe ones would lead to a mild case of stomach illness; the purple berries were deadly for merfolk because they attracted bacteria that, when inside a merperson, would bloat their stomach to the point of no return.

Sakura grabbed a piece of seaweed and bandaged her scratch before heading back to the ship. She glanced around her before swimming onto it; she did not want any unwanted company following her.

"Naruto," she murmured softly, putting the basket down on the deck and swimming closer to the sleeping blonde. "Wake up, I've got breakfast."

"Mmmmnnnnn..."

Naruro did not move a muscle.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

_Doesn't food usually get guys going or something?_ she asked her other half.

_**I dunno,**_ replied her Inner. _**Clearly not Naruto.**_

_Well, okay, then..._

"Naruto, oh my gosh, look!" Sakura yelled.

Silence.

"..." Sakura watched incredulously as Naruto slept on before she finally sighed and pulled back her fin.

_Well,_ she thought,_ if I have to..._

She slapped him with her flipper.

"_Oww!_"

Naruto sat up with a start, looking wildly around before calming upon seeing Sakura.

"What was that for?"

"_That,"_ replied Sakura, "was for being a complete jerk while you're sleeping. Look." She gestured to the moss basket. "I found food!"

The two ate the berries in silence, mostly too tired to strike up a conversation. Sakura felt mentally fatigued.

'Mmm," said Naruto, "I love seaweeberries."

Sakura smiled.

"Me, too," she replied.

_**Me three!**_ declared Inner Sakura.

Sakura ignored her.

"You know, I only ate them when I came here," said Naruto, "because in Atlantica, they can't grow. I tried. They can't grow in the tropics, so close to the surface. They want rich sand soil so they can settle down for a long time. The sand in Oceanica territory is a lot more nutrient-happy."

Sakura blinked, surprised.

"How do you know so much about plants?" she asked. Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, well," he began, "I sort of, uhm... Like growing plants."

Sakura stared at him, and then laughed.

"_You_?" she guffawed, "you grow_ PLANTS_?"

Naruto made a face at her.

"Yeah, I _DO_, as a matter of fact." And with that, the blonde stuffed a handful of seaweeberries in his mouth.

Sakura chuckled before doing the same.

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"Ne, ne, Sakura," prodded Naruto. It was afternoon, and the two were still stuffed from the berries to think on lunch right now. Sakura had shown him around the ship, naming most of it's parts.

"Hmm?" she asked patiently. _We have all the time in the world, after all,_ she thought resignedly.

_**You can say that again.**_

"How do you know so much about humans?"

Sakura started. She had not anticipated (or expected) this question.

"Uhmmm..."

_Should we tell him or not?_ she asked her Inner. Her alter ego shrugged.

_**May as well. We're buddies now, after all.**_

"...A long time ago," she began carefully, "My Mother used to tell me stories. She used to talk about the humans and the marvelous things they could do on land that we in the sea could only dream about." Naruto sat in silence, expectantly, and so she continued: "She told me that they could build ships-" she gestured around them at the wooden work they were in- "with their bare hands. They cut trees, seaweed-like plants, only taller and stronger, down and built the huge boats with the bark, with the wood." She slid a finger carefully along the wood she was resting on, mindful not to get a splinter. "But even wood can break if it's hit with something stronger." She pointed farther into the Outwaters. "My Mother told me that sometimes the ships would bang into the Ice Ridges of the Outwaters and would fill with water and sink. Humans can't breathe underwater. They drown."

Naruto nodded slowly.

"I know," he said, "But they usually know how to swim, back in Atlantica."

Sakura shook her head.

"Yeah, but they're stuck inside this wood," she responded, tapping a piece with her flipper. "Since it's stronger than them, it won't budge, so they wouldn't be able to get out."

Naruto thought about her words for a moment.

"Your Mom knew a lot," he finally said. Sakura shrugged.

"She spent a lot of time watching them."

Naruto grinned.

"Your mom was really pretty," he said, "just like you."

Sakura smiled.

"She was," she replied.

"I liked her," continued Naruto. "She liked me a lot, too. Look, see?"

He gestured at the necklace around his neck.

"She gave me this when I told her I was gonna be King one day," he said. "I told her I was gonna keep Atlantica in prosperity, and she told me to do a Rasengan to prove it."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"A Rasengan?" she echoed. Naruto nodded back energetically.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "The legend back in Atlantica is that only the strongest and bravest mermen can do that. So I did it."

"But..." Sakura struggled to assemble her thoughts. "But, you would have had to do the Rasengan when we were just-"

"-Six years old, yeah. That's when I first came to visit you guys." Naruto grinned mischievously at her. "And I did it."

Sakura gaped at her good friend.

It certainly wasn't impossible, in her opinion. Naruto was a bit of a dunce when it came to scholarly subjects, but he was a very stubborn individual who could set his mind to anything. He was also _very_ strong physically.

"Show me," she breathed.

Naruto's grin grew and he nodded.

"Okay," he replied. He swam up, close to the surface of the water. "Watch this, Sakura!" he yelled down to her, and then he was an orange jet of bubbles practically flying through the water, straight down. He spun his hands around each other, and the bubbles collected. His face was very serious now, concentrating, and the bubbles grew and glowed, reflecting the sunlight. With a yell, Naruto rammed the large ball of condensed water into the sand around him.

A current flew at Sakura from the blast, and she covered her eyes with her arms, her hair flying crazily behind her.

"Wh-whoa!" she yelped. She squinted at Naruto and saw him coughing from the wall of sand that had arisen from the current created from the Rasengan, small residue bubbles glittering as they floated away on the aftershock waves from the current.

"Th-that was _awesome_" she yelled to him, he blinked, eyes teary from the sand, and grinned back at her.

"Yeah! Believe it!" he screamed back, beginning to swim back to the ship.

_**Sakura,**_ said Inner Sakura,_** look! The ship didn't fall apart, even though it's so old!**_

The real Sakura shrugged inwardly.

_Mom said they were strong._

"Mom must've been so impressed!" she exclaimed to Naruto once he was back on the ship. "That was so amazing!"

"Aww, it was nothing like this back then," Naruto replied, laughing. "But your mom was impressed, yeah. She gave me this... And a kiss on the forehead for good luck."

Sakura's smile widened.

"Mmh, she was always cheering for us." Sakura closed her eyes.

_"Sakura, would you like to hear a legend?"_

Her smile faltered.

"She always had faith in us."

_"Why didn't he Mary the Princess?"_

_"I don't know, Sakura, I don't know..."_

"But..." her voice quivered. "...Even she..."

_"Sakura. LEAVE!"_

"Even she was like a human trapped in a ship, at the end..."

Naruto's smile fell away.

"Oh, God, Sakura," he said, "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault," she said back, but her eyes were distant. "It's just that... That..."

_She and her Mother swam away from the looming figure._

_"Faster, Sakura!" hissed her Mother. Sakura swam as fast as her little flipper could take her._

_"You cannot run forever," said a voice from behind them. Sakura shimmered and her Mother urged her forward, always forward. The ocean floor around them sped by in a blur as they swam on, yelling every now and hen at the cackle emitted by the shadowy figure._

_Sakura saw the glittering gold of the castle, saw her Father armed with his trident and the guards, realized safety was almost here._

_"Mommy," she said, turning. "We're safe! We're-"_

_She never finishes as her Mother's scream pierced the waters, echoed over all of Oceanica._

_"Orochimaru!" screamed Jiraiya, throwing his trident at the shadowy figure whose sword pierced her Mother. The sword retracted as the assailant withdrew to dodge the trident; a hiss escapes his lips as he failed to completely escape it._

_Sakura's eyes locked with his yellow ones, and for a moment, she knew she would die._

_And then he wheeled away, slithering rather than swimming through the waters in a hasty retreat. The guards followed._

_Sakura and her Father swam to her Mother's side._

_"Tsunade," Jiraiya said desperately. "Tsunade, can't you heal it?"_

_The Queen coughed, struggling to shake her head. She closed her eyes and groaned in pain._

_"J-Jiraiya..."_

_Jiraiya had tears in his eyes._

_"Tsunade?" he asked in almost a whisper._

_Tsunade tried to talk._

_"Th-Th-the pro... P-prophecy..." she gasped. "It's S-Sakura... She is..."_

_Jiraiya hushed her, the tears flowing. Sakura sobbed quietly beside him, her little seven-year-old hands fisted around the lining of her Father's dark green fin._

_"I know," he said, "I know."_

_Tsunade open her eyes, took a rattling, ragged breath, and breathed, "Sakura."_

_The little girl looked at her Mother, finally looking away from the bloody wound near in the middle of her Mother's upper body._

_"M-Mommy...?" she murmured. She was pale and scared; her Mother smiled at her._

_"I love you," she said. "D-don't... Lose... Him..."_

_The Queen closed her eyes._

_Jiraiya let out a strangled cry._

_Sakura shimmered and collapsed in tears, clutching onto her Father._

_She realized her Mother would never open her eyes again._

"... He's killed them both, now..."

Naruto pulled Sakura into a comforting embrace. Sakura took deep flaming breaths, determined not to cry in front of Naruto.

_I can't be a wimp anymore,_ she told herself.

_**We decided we could trust him**_, replied Inner Sakura. _**Why can't we show him our tears?**_

_It's not for him,_ she told it. It's for me. I'VE_ got to be strong._

Naruto spoke then.

"I..." he began. He cleared his throat. "M-My dad... I'm so worried..."

Sakura hugged him back. She could tell him no words of comfort, because she knew what Orochimaru would do.

She hoped with all her might she was wrong.

They stayed like that for a while, two broken people on a broken ship.

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It was evening. The two merfolk had dared eat the mushrooms Sakura had found to discover they were _quite_ edible. They happily devoured them for dinner, along with some more berries.

"All right," said Naruto after he had finished. "Tomorrow, we set out for Atlantica."

"And stop by Pacifica," added Sakura. "Gaara can lend us some supplies." She referred to the teenage ruler of the seas to the Northwest of Oceanica, whom Naruto was good friends, and Sakura was acquainted, with.

"Right," replied Naruto. "Mom is at home, so she'll be able to help us launch a counterattack to break into the castle."

Sakura nodded vigorously.

"We need to reclaim it," she said. Naruto emitted a grunt of approval before stretching and yawning.

"We've got a long journey, then," he said, grinning at her. "We should sleep early."

Sakura agreed, and soon enough, Naruto was snoring away and the moon filtered her beams through the water once more, stars dancing along the surface of the ocean.

Sakura, on her part, simply couldn't fall back to sleep.

_**We need to rest,**_ complained her alter ego.

_Sure,_ remarked Sakura, _except I've got all these _thoughts_ and _memories_ floating around my brain. Explain to me how I'm supposed to sleep with this chaos going on._

_**Easy,**_ replied her Inner. _**Ignore them.**_

_Yeah, right,_ Sakura groaned inwardly to her other half._ I can't even ignore _YOU!

_**True that.**_

_Ugh!_

Sakura sat up and quietly swam away from Naruto.

_May as well explore some more,_ she told herself, _I can plan the route we should take, or maybe I can find some water currents leading northwest since I'm not gonna get any sleep, anyway. Maybe._

She swam farther and farther away from the ship, dropping the occasional seaweeberry so she would know from which direction she had come from. She swam along, noticing nothing but the dismal sand and occasional seaweed plant or bush.

Until the water temperature dropped significantly, and Sakura shivered involuntarily.

Frozen water floated on the surface, chunks of it large and menacing in size and other puny and pitiful. They were scattered about haphazardly, as if someone had carelessly thrown them there and left them to themselves.

Sakura could barely believe her eyes.

"The Ice Ridges," she mumbled.

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**AN: Review! Merry Christmas! Hope you enjoyed!**

**Next chapter will introduce Sasuke! :D**


	4. Ice and Fire

**Icewater**

Chapter 4: Ice and Fire

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except a soon-to-be-empty bag of skittles and a bunny-shaped dog chewtoy (don't ask).**

**Review, please!**

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Sakura stared, mouth hanging wide open.

_**We should turn back,**_ warned Inner Sakura.

_Since when have you been the voice of reason?_

_**Oh, since forever.**_

_Tch. Yeah, right!_

Sakura slowly, almost fearfully, began swimming through the cold water beneath the Ice Ridges. She dropped a berry and continued, awed by the cool, white, glittering frozen liquid that was so peaceful yet so deadly.

Sakura momentarily forgot everything else except what was before her eyes as she swam, admiring how the moonlight bounced off the icebergs, making them a blinding white, and imagined seeing them from above the water.

_They must be even more dazzling with the sun shining directly on them and no water to dilute the image,_ she mused. Her Inner agreed.

_**Definitely,**_ it said._** Let's go up and take a look!**_

_Voice of reason?_ Sakura retorted dryly.

_**Ehh, but this is so cool! Come on, please?**_

_No,_ she told herself, swimming deeper in, dropping a berry.

_**Yes.**_

_No._

_**Yes.**_

_No!_

_**Yes!**_

_No!_

_**No.**_

_Yes! Wait-Urgh!_

_**Heehee!**_

_Shut up, you!_

A boom in the distance cut off her Inner's (no doubt scathing) reply.

Sakura glanced around fearfully.

"What was that?" she whispered aloud.

_**No idea, babe, no idea.**_

Sakura hesitantly swam forward again, seeing that the Ice Ridges ended ahead. She came out on the opposite side of them. She dropped a berry.

Boom!

Sakura nearly leapt out of her skin.

_That was closer,_ she said.

_**Yeah, but still pretty far-off.**_

_What should we do?_

_**I don't know. Maybe go back to the ship-**_

_Naruto!_

Sakura took a moment, weighing her options.

_I can go back to the ship and hope and pray we won't be found,_ she thought, o_r I can risk my life and go see what the heck is causing that sound._

Sakura strained her ears.

Boom!

_THERE!_

Sakura surged forward, her flipper flapping furiously in the water as she hurried towards the sound.

_I can protect Naruto this way,_ she thought.

BOOM!

It was much louder, much nearer now. Sakura heard the whoosh of a water current and hopped on, riding ever closer to the sound.

She hopped off right before she heard another thunderous BOOM.

And this time, that wasn't all.

A flash of yellow sprouted into existence. Sakura yelped before realizing it was _above_ the water, not below. It illuminated a dark figure...

Her eyes widened and she drew closer.

"A ship," she breathed.

Another BOOM! rumbled, slightly muted by the water, and she looked on in wonder as an orange brighter than Naruto's tail sprang to life above the surface, exploding into a shower of shooting stars that fizzled when they reached the water.

_**Sakura,**_ her Inner said. _**Hey, Sakura, this is fam-**_

_I wanna see this!_ Sakura told her alter ego, swimming forward and up. _A real ship! Humans must be on it! _She gasped. They_ must be making the colorful stars!_

_**Wait, but Sakura, tha-**_

And Sakura broke through to the surface, splashing.

She shivered; the air was cold. A current - of wind, she supposed- whipped around her, blowing her pink hair into her face. She took a breath.

**BOOM!**

She screamed; it was so loud!

Or, at least, _tried_ to scream; with a start, Sakura realized nothing but a hoarse gust of air escaped her mouth. Her eyes widening, she touched her mouth with her hands; she couldn't speak above water!

The shooting stars were as green as her eyes this time, and aptly distracted her.

_They're so pretty,_ she thought, a lazy smile creeping onto her lips. Her eyes were drawn to the bright lights on board the ship.

_Are they using fire?_ she wondered. Her Mother had described it as a warm, orange glow that could melt and burn and calm at the same time. _I wanna see it,_ she thought. She dove back underwater, and came up by the bottom of the boat.

_**Sakura, bad idea, bad idea!**_ squealed her Inner. _**It's a boat! A ship! Remember the p-**_

_Oh, quit being a wuss and help me out!_ Sakura told her other self. Inner Sakura ground her jaw before '_hmph_'ing and resignedly going on lookout duty.

Sakura chewed her lip as the humans sent up a deafening yellow star. She gazed up at the looming figure of the ship.

How was she going to get up to the deck, and more importantly, how was she going to do it _unseen?_

Her eyes alighted on the anchor thrown over the edge. She looked at her palms, assessed the situation, and came up with one conclusion: _May as well give it a shot._

She swam over to it, put her hands on the cold metal, and pulled herself up.

With a large heave, she was nearly all out of the water, minus the bottom end of her flipper. The cold night air nipped her, chilling her to the bone, but she grit her teeth, curled her lower body around the chain, and heaved again. In this manner she slowly, tediously made her way to the deck. There was a border of wood right below the deck, encircling the ship as a decorative addition, and she reached it, scooting herself across the wooden surface easily enough. She shivered, putting her arms around her, rubbing her shoulders to get the blood flowing and relax her strained arm muscles.

She heard music. Harmonious sounds that she sort of recognized. Some were voices, and she recognized those, for merfolk produced the same sort of sounds when singing; but the instruments the humans used sounded unlike anything she had heard before. She took a deep breath of the night air and carefully slid herself up to rest her arms on the floor of the deck.

When she pulled herself up, her eyes did not alight on fire.

But they may as well have.

A laughing human with dark hair and darker eyes was what she saw. He wore clothes of the same creamy shade as white sands from Atlantica's dunes, and long night-black fabric rippled down his legs.

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

_Legs!_

They were everywhere, twirling and stomping about, tapping to the beat, covered in what had to be leather. And beneath the leather, she knew there were stubby finger-like objects called toes, five per leg, connected to a long sort of palm called a foot. She felt a flutter of something - a longing of some kind - in her chest, and her eyes were drawn back to the man who had laughed. He was smiling - no, that was no smile, but a smirk! - at someone who was talking to him, and he held a cup of some sort. He waved his hand dismissively, and then he drank a huge swig of whatever frothed around in his cup before taking his sleeve and swiping it across his mouth.

_**Bad manners,**_ commented her Inner.

_But look,_ Sakura said dreamily. A star of pink exploded behind her; it barely registered in her mind that it had come from the outpost at the top of the ship. _Look at him... He's..._

Sakura sat there for a long time, watching the man stand and drink and socialize, and eventually it registered to her that he was getting very, _very_ drunk.

_A party of some kind,_ she realized. _They're having a party!_

_**What, and the festivities didn't give it away?**_

Sakura waved her Inner's comment away dismissively. _I was occupied,_ she told it.

_**Yeah, **_**drooling.**

_What? What do you mean by th-!_

"Attention everyone!"

Sakura's eyes snapped back to the boy. He stood on top of a little foot stool, his cup sloshing over as he turned to look at the sailors around him.

"I have to tell you all why I ordered for a party," he said, suddenly sober. "But first, an important matter to discuss! You all know the Treaty the Uchiha made with the Hyuga and Inuzuka has been going sour." A great murmur went through the men, and the boy continued. "It has been resolved!" Cheers erupted.

Sakura smiled a little.

_At least it's peaceful _somewhere, she thought.

"Aww, Sasuke, we don't care about that!" yelled a chubby man. Sakura knew he was also, like the boy, intoxicated.

_Sasuke,_ she thought to herself; the name would probably roll off her tongue like honey if she could have said it. _A handsome name for a handsome man,_ she mused dreamily.

"Yeah," said a calmer voice. "What about that Princess? That one from Sound!"

Sakura frowned. Sound. Why did that ring a bell...?

"Oh," said Sasuke, "Her. Yeah. NO."

Chuckles and cheers arose from the men. Then the boy with the ponytail who had asked groaned.

"Your Father's gonna have a cow," he moaned. "He thought you would finally get engaged. To her!" He shook his head when Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. "Troublesome..."

"Whatever," replied Sasuke. "That's not important. What DOES matter," he said, smirking, "Is that it's my birthday!"

Cheers erupted and the boy commenced the party festivities again with a swig of his liquor, and Sakura giggled in spite of herself when he stumbled off his stool.

_He's so cute,_ she thought. _I wonder if we would get along...?_ She doubted it; their worlds did not mix, as her Mother's past had proven.

Sakura, lost in her thoughts, barely noticed the resuming booms of "stars" behind her. The night continued, trudging closer and closer to midnight, but the beer flowed freely on board and the food platters constantly piled and re-piled with delicious-smelling delicacies. Sakura watched, enraptured, as the boy Sasuke continued with the merriment and got drunker and drunker, his face turning red. Sakura laughed, a breathy, choking sound above water, absorbed in the moment.

"Sasuke looks like a red seaweeberry!" she said (or, rather, tried to say). Her fin thumped the side of the boat in her excitement.

And slowly, her smile faded as the sound on board slowly fell away at Sasuke's raised hand.

"Did I just hear..." asked Sasuke slowly, peering around the ship, "...something?"

The crew members guffawed and shook their heads, some waving hands dismissively.

"There's a party on board, Sasuke," said the ponytail boy. "That probably explains it."

Sasuke's eyes raked the deck.

"..."

Sakura felt her heart stop beating as his eyes stopped when they reached the part of the deck she was watching from.

His eyes flashed red.

Sakura froze, her heart beginning to pound rapidly in her chest.

"...Something's over..." Sasuke didn't finish his sentence as he slowly walked over to her. The crew had resumed their partying, but it was at least two times quieter than before.

_Tap, tap, tap._

His leather-bound feet drew ever closer.

_Tap, tap, tap._

His eyes met her green ones.

She did not wait to see why he suddenly stopped walking. She flung herself down.

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Sasuke ran to the railing, looking over the edge in time to see a green fin - one unlike anything he had ever seen before - splash into the water.

_What kind of fish...?_ he thought. He shook his head, his eyes fading back to black. _I'm seeing things._ He looked at the cup in his hand and threw it away from him disgustedly. _Not good._

He looked back to the water that was still rippling

from the fish's splash.

_Interesting,_ he thought to himself before turning back to the party and plastering a fake grin on his face. _Interesting._

Green, glittering eyes haunted him for the rest of the evening.

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_**Sakura, that was **_**too close**_**!**_ screeched Inner Sakura. _**We could've been **_**KILLED**_** if Sasuke had ordered a harpoon after us!**_

_You wuss,_ Sakura grumbled back. _You didn't help me out there at _all_!_

_**Well, you can't expect me to do **_**EVERYTHING**_** around here,**_ Inner Sakura replied smugly.

_You hardly do _ANYTHING! Sakura retorted.

The water was warm compared to the windy air above, and Sakura sighed happily, enjoying the feeling of water surrounding her once more.

_We should be getting back,_ she thought. Looking up once more to watch the reflection in the water of a blue star burst forth from the ship, she retreated to the icy waters of the Ice Ridge, intent on returning to her orange-finned companion.

_We can tell him everything that happened!_ she thought excitedly, following her trail of berries. _It'll be so cool to go watch the ship tomorrow evening with him!_

_**Sakura,**_ asked her alter ego incredulously, _**You're not seriously considering going **_**BACK,**_** are you?**_

_I can't... _NOT_,_ she told it. The black eyes of Sasuke flitted across her mind. _...Just once more, I promise._

_**It's unsafe!**_ cried her Inner. _**His eyes turned **_**RED! **_**Don't blame that on the lighting or the falling stars, Sakura! He **_**can't **_**be safe! You don't want what happened to Dad to happen to Na-**_

_Don't you _DARE_ go there,_ snapped Sakura angrily. The edge of the Ice Ridges was within her view now. _They didn't kill _ME_, so they won't hurt _HIM,_ okay?_

_**Fine, but don't count on it,**_ seethed her other half. _**We can trust no strangers out here. They're called the Outwaters for a **_**REASON;**_** they're dangerous for us because humans traverse them frequently! There's a reason we have the phrase '**_**Don't be a fish trapped in a net,'**_** you know!**_

Sakura shrugged. _I'm more worried about Orochimaru's net than a human's._

_**Orochimaru's net is full,**_ warned Inner Sakura. _**But the humans is empty.**_

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**AN: sorry about the short chapter, but I had to break it here because otherwise it would be suuuuuper long and I don't have the patience to scroll that far while writing, lol. Review, please! Thanks! Hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Shipwreck

**Icewater**

Chapter 5: Shipwreck

**Disclaimer: Can't do them anymore. Nope. Nope. Naruto isn't mine for the rest of my fic. Okay. Onwards.**

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"You sure about this?" Naruto asked, touching Sakura's shoulder. Sakura brushed his hand off, smiling brightly back at him.

"I'm positive," she said. "As long as we're not seen, they won't hurt us."

It was evening again. Naruto had been excited to hear about the shooting stars, albeit disappointed he had missed them; but he was determined to at least catch a glimpse of the human with the red eyes.

The two set off, dropping the occasional seaweeberry from Sakura's seaweed-woven basket to mark their location.

They felt the Ice Ridges before they saw them. The water, a sharper cold than yesterdays, made them both shiver, and they swam quickly to reach the other side. Still, both recognized the beauty of the icebergs within the Ridges, each mentally taking note of the way the fog made the moonlight hazy and the icebergs a dull gray.

_**I have a feeling,**_ began Inner Sakura, _**that once we go through here, there's no turning back.**_

Sakura tried to shove her other half out of her mind.

_**EVER**_, it insisted.

_Oh, go away,_ Sakura told it._ I'm sick of you._

Her Inner let out an insulted sound before returning to the recesses of Sakura's mind.

"Ne, ne," Naruto drawled, drawing Sakura's attention again. "Sakura? Is that the ship over there?"

Sakura looked up. The edge of the Ridges was just behind them, the surrounding water still chilly from its proximity to the ice. There, floating towards them, was the ship Sasuke was on.

Sakura and Naruto swam forward, and something of a warning went off in Sakura's head.

"Naruto!" she yelled, pointing up at the wooden object. "It's going the wrong way!" At his questioning glance, she waved her arms sporadically, her eyes widening as he herself registered what she said next. "They're gonna crash!"

Naruto and Sakura both went through mental calculations: If they did nothing, then the humans would die and be trapped in the cold; they wouldn't be able to hold out as long as merfolk. If they revealed themselves, they would be risking their lives with no guarantee that they could possibly nonverbally explain the situation; the ship might crash anyway.

And as one, both Naruto and Sakura nodded silently to one another and broke the surface.

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Sasuke leaned against the mast. His head throbbed painfully; his churning stomach had calmed itself somewhat since the morning, but its low rumbling reminded him that he still had a hangover. He barely suppresses a groan and ran his hand through his hair in agitation.

_Why did I have to get drunk?_ he wistfully thought to himself. _I'm smarter than that!_ He mentally slapped himself; outwardly, though, he kept a straight, unreadable expression on.

He was beginning to think about going to find some crackers or something when a number of yells and gasps from the crewmen on deck drew his attention. His vision was still blurry from the hangover; he rubbed his eyes agitatedly. The fog only made things worse.

"I... I don't believe it."

Shikamaru's voice drew Sasuke's attention.

"What's going on here?" asked the Uchiha, clumsily pushing his way through the crowd. He looked out and squinted. An orange and... was that _PINK?_ he asked himself incredulously. The colorful blobs floated below, partially hidden by the mist, and slowly it dawned on him that they had to be waving arms, gesturing behind them in what he assumed to be frantic motions.

Sasuke frowned, looking beyond them. He could only make out a grayish mass of something... He activated his Sharingan. It took him a moment, but once it registered, the objects looming in the distance were suddenly _very_ close to the ship. _TOO_ close.

"Turn the ship!" he yelled. "Icebergs! We're gonna crash! Turn the-"

It was too late.

The ship rattled as it hit the first chunk of ice. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Can you turn us, Juugo?" he called, relinquishing his death grip on the railing. The crew was running madly around, dashing to and fro as they assessed the damage and situation. Sasuke didn't bother; he knew either they turned, or they sank. The iceberg field was too big to easily escape, and they had a big ship that took time to turn.

Juugo hesitated, hands on the wheel, before shaking his head no.

The ship rumbled again as it smacked into another iceberg. Sasuke stumbled, reaching out for the mast to balance himself.

_We're screwed_ was his last thought before another iceberg broke the side of the ship and water plunged inside, slowly but surely drawing the ship downwards.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sakura cursed.

"Useless!" she said, diving back underwater to avoid being mushed between the wooden structure and a frozen piece of water. "They got the message too late!"

Naruto joined her, eyeing the ship warily.

"What now?" he asked her. The water shook as the ship hit another iceberg, and then another. Slowly, almost unnoticeably, the ship began to creep downwards.

The image of the sunken ship they were staying in flashed through her mind.

As did the mossy skeleton inside it.

Sakura did not reply to Naruto. She swam back to the surface, looking up.

The people on the ship were running to and fro, and Sakura scowled when she realized they were too panicked to use their brains and escape. Grimacing, she looked in vain for something to climb on so she could make her way to the deck. But the only reason she had been able to climb yesterday had been the anchor; it was nowhere to be seen. She swam backwards away from the ship as it slammed into another iceberg. The sinking process was becoming visible, and the sailors surely must have realized they were running out of time; some jumped off the deck and swam around blindly. Others were trying to lower boats full of people.

_That won't work,_ she thought, her eyes scanning around. _Even little boats can't make it out of the Ridges unscathed. The fog would hinder their eyesight._

Sakura surged forward. A sailor saw her and he, in bewilderment, did not fight back when she grabbed him and swam him towards a small iceberg. She motioned to it, and he climbed atop it, shivering. Behind her, Sakura heard Naruto's tail splashing as he helped two sailors to the iceberg. They brought a few more to the closest thing they had to land, watching helplessly as the ship went deeper and deeper.

At last, the deck was within her reach. Sakura swam quickly, using her momentum to leap on board. She had no time to reel from the cutting wind or sudden impact. She looked around, saw a few men through the haze struggling to lower a boat, and a few stragglers looking helplessly over the railing. Sakura motioned to the iceberg; the men understood, despite the open gawking she received, and they either leapt overboard and swam, or paddled their way over in the flimsy little wooden boats. Sakura's eyes scoured the deck until they slighted in black ones.

Black eyes that quickly swirled to red.

Her breath caught in her throat as Sasuke carefully approached her. She looked away and dragged herself over to the door leading below-deck.

She looked up to meet Sasuke's gaze.

_Are there others below?_ She gestured with her arms, raising her eyebrows slightly.

Sasuke glanced over to the iceberg, seeming to count. He shook his head.

"No," he said aloud. Sakura looked once more at the door before beginning to move to hop out of the ship.

She didn't get to finish.

She felt herself lifted and let out the breath of a would-be squeal. Sasuke carried her, flipping her over his shoulder like a bag of gully potatoes, and strode over to the railing, not pausing as he unceremoniously lobbed her off the boat into the water before diving in himself.

She spun from the force, bubbles trailing after her. She gained her bearings and whirled around.

"You!" she screamed, glad she could produce noise while under. Sasuke momentarily froze, stunned by the sound she suddenly made, before resuming his swimming towards the iceberg. Sakura grumbled something about "dark-haired _jerks_" before following after him. He reached the iceberg and climbed on, then turned to offer her assistance with his hand.

She hesitated. Her Inner's words from before echoed in her head: _"Orochimaru's net is full. But the humans is empty."_

Then she saw Naruto's tail flopping happily about on the iceberg as he conversed with the chubby sailor and the ponytailed sailor. She took Sasuke's outstretched hand, and he hauled her up into his arms again. He carried her to a clear space on the frozen ice and - literally - dumped her there. She landed with a would-be '_oof,_' letting out a sharp breath before glaring up at him as he stood looking down on her, arms crossed.

"A real mermaid," he said. His eyes narrowed as they locked on to hers. Green met red. "You were spying on our boat yesterday."

Sakura shrugged, feeling her cheeks going red.

_What?_ she thought. _Why am I blushing?_

She put it up to the exertion it had taken to haul a bunch of burly human men to a frozen chunk of rock, jumping onto a boat, and being dropped twice by this Sasuke fellow.

_It's all his fault,_ she concluded with conviction.

_**It sure is,**_ replied her Inner. _**And you wanna know why? It's cuz he's-**_

"Why?"

Sasuke's question brought her back to attention.

She opened her mouth, puffed out the air required to say "_Because,_" stopped, let out a sigh of frustration, and tapped her throat.

Sasuke's eyes widened before softening ever so slightly.

"You can't talk above water," he finally concluded. Sakura nodded. Sasuke frowned and pointed at Naruto.

"Then explain why _he_ can."

Sakura turned, frowning. Sasuke was right; Naruto's boisterous voice sprang forth and echoed and rebounded across the ice of the Ridges, and his laughter boomed across the distance separating them, seeming to mock her inability to produce a single vocal sound.

Sakura turned back to Sasuke. He must have seen the confusion in her eyes, because he sighed and ran a hand through his hair again, signaling the closing of that subject to conversation.

"Well," he said finally, "...Thanks." He turned back to her. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha." He scrunched his face up a little, in what looked like pain. "You wouldn't happen to have a ship, would you?"

Sakura shook her head. _I've got two of yours, though,_ she thought, _at the bottom of the sea._

Sasuke looked around, and his eyes narrowed on a large floating piece of driftwood.

"Would you and your buddy be able to pull us to shore, then?" he tried again. "Or at least give us some paddles so we can row ourselves home?"

Sakura slowly slipped back into the water, shivering from the near-painful contact with the ice and her skin. She immersed herself in the water and swam over to the driftwood, swimming to and fro, occasionally hitting it with her tail to test its sturdiness.

_It might work,_ she thought, looking back to the few ice chunks blocking the path to the open waters, _if we steer properly..._

Sakura swam back over to Sasuke, dragging the driftwood with her slowly. About half-way there, Naruto hopped in beside her to help. She nodded gratefully and they connected it to the iceberg. The sailors piled on; some had to hang on to the sides. Sasuke, deciding the merfolk could handle themselves just fine in the water, deactivated his Sharingan. He ordered for routine switches so none would freeze to death or overexert themselves (_except us merfolk_, she thought, _because we've got fins, not feet_), and then the sailors took their shoes and pushed off the iceberg. Sakura took the right side of the driftwood, Naruto the left, and together they slowly guided it through to safer water. Sasuke sat after they were out to control the dizzies hitting him because of his hangover, choosing a spot close to her. She suppressed an urge to grin, and let another urge - to scowl at him momentarily - win out. He seemed unfazed as he looked her up and down.

"You know," he said, his dark eyes meeting hers once more, and a smirk appearing on his face, "For a mermaid, your boobs are small."

Sakura's jaw dropped. Her brain slowed to a stop momentarily, and then sped forward.

"_Why, you-!_" She clamped her mouth shut, anger boiling inside her as Sasuke's smirk widened. Her cheeks flushed again, and she lowered herself in the water so her mouth was under.

"I hate you, Uchiha!" she screamed. The muffled noise drew the attention of a number of the sailors (who had taken a liking to the merfolk) and a chuckle from Sasuke. She didn't care to glare at him this time; she set her eyes forward, mumbling obscenities underwater as her face flamed.

"Hey, Sasuke," called Naruto. "Are we even going the right way?"

"It wouldn't matter which way you went," replied Sasuke. "All the land around this sea belongs to either my country or an ally." Sasuke stood and sat by Naruto this time. Sakura heard them talking quietly, laughing occasionally and mostly making small talk and play banter. Sakura felt a twinge of jealousy before snuffing it out.

_None of that,_ she told herself sternly. _Naruto is a friend; it's not his fault you can't talk._

_**Yeah, it's Mom's.**_

Sakura mentally slapped her other self.

_Don't talk about Mother that way!_

_**Well, it's true, **_said her Inner, slapping right back. _**If she hadn't gone and become a human, maybe we would still have a voice!**_

_Shut up,_ she told her other self, but it continued.

_**To get feet from the sea witch, you have to trade something! Maybe she offered our voice, the voice of her first-born,**_ it suggested. _**Maybe she-**_

_Go. Away._

Sakura mentally flung her Inner back to the recesses of her mind, a secluded room.

_**Wait, but Sakura, you need to kno-**_

_BAM!_ She slammed the door and locked it, throwing the key away.

_I don't need your lies,_ Sakura said darkly to it through the door. _Now leave me alone._

It did not reply.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sakura could see the coast. It was nearly dawn. She and Naruto were exhausted, but pressed on, because the humans would probably not be able to eat seaweeberries, and in any case, Sakura had none and doubted she would find any around here anyway. But the slightly tired (_and possibly_, she mused, _ill?_) look on Sasuke's face (and the more obvious strain on his crew members faces) made her press on, despite her screaming muscles and her tense arms. She pulled and pulled.

A hand reached over to touch her hand; she blinked and looked up to see Sasuke looking down at her, crouching.

"We can swim from here," he said. He motioned, and immediately, the tired men began to move their muscles in preparation. Those hanging on the edge of the wood slid of into the water, starting out for shore early. Sakura tiredly relinquished her hold on the driftwood after witnessing Naruto do the same. She stretched, flexing and coaxing her blood to flow properly again. Sasuke silently slid in next to her. Sakura gave him a quizzical look. He smirked back and dove under, and she followed.

Sasuke swam for shore, and after a moment of hesitation, Sakura followed. Her heart fluttered when the first ray of sunlight beamed forth across the sky. She squinted against it and looked on at the clouds. The mist had receded a bit before, and so Sakura could see clearly.

She didn't know whether she wished she could or not.

Sasuke swam straight for the beach, and Sakura saw him glance back at her when he touched his feet against the sand. She shook her flipper at him. He raised an eyebrow and gestured with his thumb to the side of him, smirking, as Naruto pulled on to the sand to say his goodbyes to his new friends. Sakura shrugged, deciding it was worth it, and pulled herself into the shallow water, letting the salty sea waves crash against her back. Sasuke once again squatted, this time in front of her.

And he dunked her.

"Hey!" she gargled as her head was below. She looked up to see Sasuke's head submerged as well.

She fought out of his hand and popped back up, and he followed suit. He gestured back down at the water.

"Talk." In response to the flabbergasted expression she gave him, he elaborated. "You haven't told me your name yet."

Sakura thought something might be wrong with her heart; it was beating a mile a minute. She ignored it and nodded, going under again. Sasuke's head followed.

"I'm Sakura Haruno," she said, "And I see that you're royalty."

Sasuke smiled at her then; a genuine smile. Her heart fluttered even more (which she would have thought impossible, but apparently not). They surfaced at the same time, black eyes fixated on green.

He patted her pink head.

"I wish I weren't. Nice meeting you, Sakura Haruno." He turned and walked on to the beach, away from the water. He turned to look at her over his shoulder. "I still think your boobs are too small."

Sakura didn't flush this time, but let out a burst of air from her attempted laughter.

_Goodbye to you, too, Sasuke Uchiha,_ she thought. He turned, giving Naruto a goodbye, and Sakura retreated to the water, looking at Sasuke's men headed towards the castle.

It was large, a huge, towering structure of stone, with an ancient feel about it. Something flashed in her memories, something from one of her mother's stories about men, and she dove underwater. She neared the rocks the castle stood on and scrutinized them carefully.

_There._

Her eyes widened. There was an insignia scratched on to it.

_Arcticia's._

She reeled away from the castle, surfacing as if she had choked on water, gasping for breath. She thought she saw Sasuke's retreating form in the distance turn towards her, but either way, it was of no importance anymore.

She had to get out of here.

_I shouldn't have let them live._

She turned and splashed below, swimming faster when she heard Naruto's startled cry to her.

_This family..._

_This BOY..._

He was related to _that man_, the one who had broken her Mother.

The one who had ruined her Mother's life.

She did not stop until she had returned to the Ice Ridges, and she swam down to Sasuke's sunken ship and curled up on the deck, sobbing softly.

She had helped the descendants of the man who had rejected her Mother's love.

Slowly, she began to calm herself. Sasuke's red and black eyes seemed to haunt her.

_I cannot avenge my Mother's death,_ she admitted finally. Naruto's mother, Kushina, would only be able to help until Orochimaru threatened to kill Minato; after that, she would be able to do nothing but hand over Atlantica for her husband or never know her love's fate. And Gaara was brilliant, but he, too, would be threatened with the lives of Oceanica's citizens, as would she; should either of them fight, Sakura's people would be slaughtered for it.

But the humans trusted her. She would not have revenge on them for her Mother's death; they hadn't caused it, after all.

As she fell to sleep, her resolve set.

_But I _can_ avenge my Mother's broken heart by breaking the heart of _THEIR_ kingdom's future leader._

"_Orochimaru's net is full, but the humans is empty."_

_Well, so is mine,_ she thought before drifting off. _So is mine._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**AN: It turned out shorter than I thought it would. Hunh. Still a solid chunk of chapter, though.**

**The tale has turned! Sakura is out for revenge - on the humans! But I wonder how she plans to go about this...? Review, please!**


	6. My ten toes

**Icewater**

Chapter 6: My ten toes

**Disclaimer: See chapter 5. Lol.**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sakura woke because someone put her down. She knew it had to be Naruto; he was the only one around. She was no longer freezing, and for that, she was grateful. It had probably been a bad idea to fall asleep in the Ice Ridges, but at the moment, she didn't really care. She curled up on the surface of mosses Naruto must have built for her and once again returned to her dreamless sleeping.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Naruto woke up at late afternoon; he knew because his stomach grumbled, and the sun was shining through the water too brightly for it to be morning still. He sat up, turning to see Sakura curled up on the moss. Her green eyes opened to peer at him with mild interest.

"Good morning," he said to her. "Er... Afternoon."

Sakura giggled and closed her eyes; for some reason, she was giving off some weird vibes... Naruto thought hard before placing them.

_She's sad,_ he realized. His blue eyes narrowed slightly. _But why?_

He had no answer.

He stretched, yawning, and floated upwards, his tail swishing about, waking up along with the rest of him.

"Ne, ne, Sakura," he said. She did not open her eyes, but the slight tilt of her head towards him was all he needed to be reassured that she was listening. "Where's the basket of seaweeberries?"

Sakura shrugged.

"I left it in the Ridges," she said. Something in her tone suggested there was more to the story, more to what she had left there, but he waved it away.

_Maybe she's just really tired._ Honestly, the only reason he had bothered to get up at all was because he was starving; but his body was still sore from the work it had taken to pull a bunch of seafaring men on a piece of wood. They had definitely traveled a lot of sand-lots, a staggering number which Naruto was not sure he could count to. Naruto had lost count at about thirteen, giving up and focusing on just continuing forward. He wouldn't be surprised if Sakura was still really exhausted from it all.

He knew_ he_ was.

"Well, I'll go get them." He grinned to her. "I'll pick some more, too." He swam away.

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

"Naruto," she called; he could barely hear her. "The purple ones are poisonous, just get the red ones!"

Naruto waved to signify he had heard her.

_Red,_ he thought. _Okay. I can do that._

He swam until he felt the water turn icy; he had been here last night to carry Sakura back to their - he smiled at the thought - ship. He looked down, carefully following the trail of berries from the day before until he reached where they stopped.

There lay the basket, berries spread out around it. He hurriedly grabbed the basket and put them all back. He followed the trail back, not bothering to pick those ones up, and swam out of the Ridges and towards a seaweeberry bush he had seen the day before while waiting for evening to come around. He scrutinized the berries, mindful of getting only reds, when a thought seized him for some inexplicable reason:

_I should check on Sakura._

He had no idea why he thought that; he simply did. Not being so mindful, Naruto grabbed a handful of berries of the bush (he could apologize to Sakura later if a purple one had found its way in) and stuffed them in the seaweed basket. Then he turned around and raced back to the ship, the worry building.

_I hope she's okay,_ he thought.

He returned to the ship.

He dropped the basket.

She wasn't there.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

_If he dies from a purple seaweeberry, it's _not_ my fault,_ Sakura told herself half-convincingly. She swam South of the Ridges, towards colder waters but more expansive, empty sea floors. She swam quickly; she did not know how long Naruto was going to take, and she did not want to risk him following her.

_This is a job I have to do alone,_ she thought.

Hours passed. Slowly, Sakura ascertained where she was.

_It's exactly where Mother said it would be,_ she thought, _South of the Ice Ridges and North of Arcticia's ruins._

_"How was the Princess able to follow the Prince, Mother?" little Sakura asked. The Queen smiled down lovingly at her daughter, patting her on the head. The two were swimming in the garden of the castle, harvesting anemones and (naturally) seaweeberries. Her Mother was currently multi-tasking, weaving a seaweed basket for Sakura to use while plucking ripe anemones from the ground and placing them in her own well-used basket._

_"She must have asked the sea witch to give her legs," her Mother replied. She lifted a strand of an anemone, looking it over before shaking her head and letting the strand fall down. She swam to the next one, observing it as well._

_Sakura gasped, dropping the red seaweeberry she had been planning on eating._

_"Sea Witch?" she asked. Her Mother laughed at her daughter's somewhat fearful expression._

_"The Sea Witch of Arcticia was very intelligent, but the Princess was smarter. I suppose she must have bested her somehow, bargained her legs."_

_Sakura looked to her Mother._

_"What did she trade?" she asked._

_Her Mother looked down at her. Her eyes looked troubled._

_"It is a high price to trade half of one's body." Sakura peered up at her Mother, cocking her head to the side. She wanted an answer; she was sure her Mother knew it. The Queen sighed, turning to look away from her daughter._

_"... She might have traded her first-born's..." Tsunade's voice cracked and she trailed off. She placed the finished little seaweed basket in Sakura's hands._

_"Mother has to go now," she told her pink-haired child. "Will you finish up?"_

_Sakura nodded._

_"Wait, Mommy!" she called before her Mother could swim too far away. "Where did she go to see the sea witch at?"_

_Her Mother pointed._

_"Beyond Oceanica, there are the Ice Ridges," explained her Mother tiredly. "I've heard that South of those, near the land of my ancestors, there lives a sea witch by the name of Chiyo." With that, her Mother swam away, leaving a perplexed daughter behind her to finish gathering the berries and anemones._

Sakura roused herself from her thoughts of the past.

_She traded something of mine for legs here,_ Sakura thought. _I was involved in the Prophecy from the __start._

She repeated to herself what she had since the night her Mother had passed on: _I will avenge my Mother. I will avenge her for her loss._ Then, Sakura added a new part. _I will avenge her for her heartbreak._ And then Sakura amended another part she usually included: _I will fulfill my duty as Princess of Oceanica... once I have done these things._

Sakura swam over a large rock and examined the scenery before her. Moss crawled across the rocky expanse of caverns, and a thin layer of ice separated the sky from the sea. No schools of fish swam freely here; in fact, aside from the moss, the only signs of life were the occasional seaweed bush; and in these cold waters, they would be hard-pressed to bear fruit. Sakura set her jaw once more.

_I must find the sea witch,_ she thought. _I _must_ find Chiyo._

Guilt swept over her once more for abandoning Naruto, but once again she pushed it back. _He would have found this fun, but this is something I must do alone._

Sakura made her way to the nearest cave. The entrance was poorly hidden by hanging moss. Sakura lifted the green stuff, swimming into the cavern. As expected, the cave was empty. It would bee too simple, too obvious to dwell in the most poorly-concealed part of Arcticia's cavernous borders. Sakura swam out of it, scrutinizing the caves now. She looked for one that she might easily miss, one that would be well-hidden and still somewhat readily-accessible.

She found none that would fit the description. She frowned.

_Maybe another angle,_ she thought. She swam up until she was right below the ice layer. She looked down.

_It still looks small, Naruto,_ she thought, smiling softly. Her eyes raked across the stony roofs; nothing. She swam down, deeper into the cavernous ridge. She tried looking upward this time. Her eyes found a mossy circle.

It was almost unnoticeable, as surrounded by moss as it was; but unlike the other moss, which was older and thicker, this circle of hanging moss was thinner and fresher. Sakura's eyes immediately narrowed.

Just as she suspected, after pushing the strands of new moss aside, she found the entrance to a large cave. It was pitch-black inside, but that didn't bother Sakura; if the sea witch lived here - as she believed Chiyo did - then light would be deeper within the hidden living space.

So Sakura entered.

The moss swung back into place behind her, and immediately darkness engulfed her. Blindly, Sakura reached out, and she touched the slimy walls. She tried her best not to cringe and slid her hands along it as she traveled further inside. After a few minutes of moving along the wall in this manner, Sakura noticed the blackness was becoming gray. She grinned as she realized this meant light was ahead, and soon enough she was able to see again.

She squinted at the source of the light. It was coming from above her, filtering down through a narrow passageway. Sakura swam up towards it.

And suddenly she burst out of the water. She coughed in surprise; she hadn't expected for there to be a secret vacuum of air stuck in the rocky caverns. She looked around her. The cave expanded out around her, the opening she peered out of being a hole in the otherwise rocky floor; and her breath caught when she saw the glowing objects on the wall. They were-

"Name yourself," said a rasping old voice. Sakura let out the air of a screech of surprise, wheeling around wide-eyed.

A woman with the lower body of an octopus stood on her eight legs, watching Sakura. She raised an eyebrow, old eyes crinkling as they filled with recognition.

"Tsunade's child," she said. "Well, well, this is certainly a surprise." She chuckled. "So the price included your voice, hmm?" She motioned with her arm. "Follow me."

The old sea witch turned and began walking down a short corridor of the cave lit by the glowing lights. Sakura pulled herself out and dragged herself on the floor, following as best she could.

The corridor turned into another cave, and this one surprised Sakura even more than the lights on the walls.

Something was churning, boiling inside of a large bowl of sorts. Sakura eyed it warily, glancing at the sea witch, who was rummaging around in a corner. After some clinking and chinking, the old witch produced two bowls and a ladle. She scooped what was boiling into each and handed one to Sakura. Then the old woman searched around some more while Sakura did her best to hold the scalding bowl. _It smells delicious,_ Sakura confided to herself. She glanced back at the lights on the walls.

_"You can make fire."_ The breath of her statement huffed out of her.

The sea witch returned, an amused smile gracing her face; she must have understood what Sakura had tried to ask.

"Well, you can't cook without it," she replied, handing Sakura a bowl-connected-to-a-spoon abject (upon seeing Sakura's quizzical glance, Chiyo identified it as a spoon).

Sakura observed the sea with eat, scooping with the spoon and balancing the soup to deliver it to her mouth. Carefully, she copied the woman's movements. The soup was warm, and Sakura realized she was starving. She ate, enjoying the food and the glow the fire cast about as it flickered and crackled.

When she was finished, the sea witch took the bowl.

"Now, to business," she declared, snapping her fingers. Immediately, the dishes vanished. Sakura blinked in surprise as the old witch walked back to the corners of the room, retrieving a powder of some sort. "What have you come here for?" she replied. "Your voice?" She tossed some powder into the cauldron; the flames turned purple and red. "Speak, then; as long as these flames burn violet, you will be able to produce sound."

"I have a voice," replied Sakura, a bit startled that her voice sounded slightly different above water than below; the tone was clearer, slightly less garbled, and also a tad more screechy. "I speak below water; but a voice above it is not what I require."

The old woman's eyebrows raised.

"Tell me," she said. "What do you wish for?"

Sakura did not bat an eyelash before replying.

"I seek legs."

The old woman laughed, a cackle that echoed eerily throughout the ancient caverns.

"Just as your mother did before you," she chuckled. "And what will you trade me?"

Sakura opened her arms. "Anything you believe flatters me," she replied. "Take my youth, my eye color, anything."

The old woman scanned Sakura's mermaid body.

"Your hair is a pretty color," she remarked. "It certainly makes you unique."

Sakura grabbed some in her fist, looking at it.

"Take it, then," she said. "It's yours."

The older woman looked at Sakura carefully.

"Your reasons are different from your Mother's," she said, "And you're not as reckless, not as careless in your trade... You've learned from her mistakes, haven't you?"

Sakura nodded. The flames flickered, dying down.

"She never told me exactly," said the pinkette. "But I l-"

The flames died, and Sakura's words rushed out as puffs of air. She sighed, looking back up with her green eyes at the old witch.

Chiyo nodded.

"You're a different woman from her. I don't have to test you to know you're smart enough to survive above-land. Your eyes already show your intelligence." She reached back into her bag, flinging powder back into the flames. This time, they glowed as green as Sakura's fin.

"Your hair will change color," warned Chiyo. "Whoever you seek, he will not recognize you. If you intend to seduce him - and don't deny it, because I know this is your goal - then you must begin anew. Unless he matches your eyes with those of the mermaid he saw, he will not love you completely. Your intention of revenge cannot be complete without his realization of that." The sea witch hesitated. "And I must warn you," she continued, "that this may be a wild goose chase. It _IS_ a futile thing." Her eyes met Sakura's stubborn ones. "But you don't care." Her grin widened. "Very well, then. As soon as I throw the powder on you, you will have exactly one hour before the change takes place. Be as near to his residence as possible by that point." With that, the sea witch grabbed a handful more of powder. She motioned, and Sakura and she exited the room, retreating down the short corridor and back to the narrow passageway of water Sakura had come from.

Chiyo patted Sakura's head.

"For the record, it was not your voice your mother traded for legs; it was her first-born's claim to the throne of Arcticia. By that point, Arcticia had agreed to join itself to Atlantica, so she didn't believe it would have the effect it did." Sakura's eyes widened, her mouth opening in an "o" of surprised horror.

_Because of her trade, Arcticia was destroyed by Orochimaru,_ Sakura realized.

"Good luck, Sakura Haruno, Princess of Oceanica." Chiyo's words snapped Sakura back to her senses. She felt the powder being sprinkled on her fin; from the corridor behind her, the cauldron's light flashed a blinding green. "Fulfill you duty as Princess. Go!"

Sakura dove down into the chilly waters. She swam and swam, blindly swimming into the walls obscured by darkness. She pushed past the mossy opening, tearing it out of her way in her haste.

_I have one hour,_ she thought desperately. _It took me at leas two or three to get here! I have to hurry!_

She barely registered that the sun was setting. Sakura knew that by the time it did, she would be human, and if she was not out of the water by then, she would drown.

The mossy skeleton flashed in her mind.

She increased her speed, finding a water current heading towards the Ice Ridges and essentially leaping into it. Soon enough - but not _FAST_ enough - the Ridges came into sight. The current took her beyond them, and Sakura leaped out, practically flying through the water in the direction she and Naruto had taken the driftwood the day before.

The beach had barely become visible when Sakura felt a sickening plunging. She screamed as a whirlpool formed around her fin, sinking her. Sakura held her breath, trying her best not to cry out as she felt her scales ripped from her skin. And then all that was left were two legs, the same color as her skin, kicking desperately as the whirlpool moved on to Sakura's hair. She felt it slice through her hair, suppressed a scream as blonde, _short_ tresses unlike her own began whipping around her head as the whirlpool receded.

And then Sakura felt a sudden, overpowering urge to _BREATHE_. She held what was left of her breath and swam up, kicking and mostly using her arms to swim upwards.

She broke through to the surface and gasped. She wildly looked around her, sanity slowly returning.

_The beach,_ she thought, paddling her way to it. She soaked up some sea water and spluttered, coughing. Her feet came into contact with sand, and she gasped. It felt strange, sticky and itchy. She stumbled her way up to shore, nearly tripping whenever waves surged forward onto the sands of the beach. She shivered, her lower body freezing as the wind coursed past it.

The last ray of sunshine vanished over the horizon.

Sakura looked down at her feet, experimentally wiggling her toes.

_One, two, three..._ She counted them. Five per foot, ten total, connected to stick-like pieces of flesh called legs. Her lower body was bare. Sakura didn't care; she was _human._

The air of her laugh escaped into the wind whipping past her. She spread her arms and ran, playing and splashing in the waves.

_I have legs,_ she thought excitedly, euphorically. _Legs, legs, legs! _I HAVE LEGS!

A startled yell from behind her made her freeze. She turned on her heels, whipping around.

Her heart stopped, then sped up.

Sasuke was looking away, face flushed, arms crossed.

"What the hell are you doing? You're _NUDE!_"

He glanced back at her, intending to glare and yell some more.

Black eyes met green ones.

He blinked, startled. He noticed the strange sea-shell top covering her upper body. His eyes widened. He immediately thought of Sakura.

_She's Sakura, _he thought.

But then her blonde hair temporarily obscured her eyes as a gust of wind picked up.

_No,_ he thought, I_t's not her._ He noticed the girl had legs, and he was convinced._ It can't be._

But still, her green eyes would haunt him if he left her out here. He let out a sigh of frustration and resignation, taking off his cloak and tossing it to her. It floated in the wind, and she ran forward to grab it, pulling it on. He motioned, somehow realizing she would not be able to talk.

"How did you get here?" he asked. Sakura hesitated, the gears of her mind turning quickly. She looked to her left and saw a piece of driftwood. She pointed to it, and used her hands to make the flowing motion of water. His eyes narrowed before realizing what she was trying to say.

"The mermaid rescued you," he said. She shook her head. "The mer_man_, then?" She nodded. He pointed to her chest. "Did he give you those shells?" She nodded. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Can you talk?" He knew the answer, but he felt obliged to ask anyway.

Sakura shook her head. He sighed again, taking her hand; Sakura felt a jolt of something at the contact.

"Come with me," he said. She nodded, feeling the warm fabric rub her skin as she shuffled along behind him. Sand gathered between her toes and around the edges of her feet as she walked. The wind blew his scent back to her; or maybe his smell was just stuck on the cloak he had given to her. Sakura tried not to close her eyes; _His smell isn't_ that_ good, _she reasoned with herself. _Don't be attracted; you must _destroy_ him, not _like_ him!_

Her green eyes looked up at the fast-approaching stone walls of the castle.

She knew from the tales of her childhood that she had three days to make him fall for her. After that, the sun would set on the third day, and the scales ripped from her skin would plaster themselves back on. She would not receive the hair that had been chopped off back, but the color would return.

She had three days.

_For Mother,_ she thought as the large, towering gates of the castle were opened for Sasuke and her by soldiers dressed in shining metal. _I will succeed._

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**AN: See? Pretty long chapter, I think. Sorry for the delay; I wanted to get this chapter just right. Please not that it will be awhile before the next update; schoolwork must be finished, and once school resumes, updates will become sporadic and few and far between. Hopefully, though, this story will be finished by the end of summer! 'Til next time, you guys!**


	7. Will of Fire

**Icewater**

Chapter 7: Will of Fire

**Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 5.**

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Sakura woke up with a would-be groan, shielding the light blinding her with her arms. She shifted, and her eyes snapped open. She huff-screamed, sitting up, realizing she was covered in something she had never felt before.

And then it dawned on her that, actually, she'd felt the sheets on her bed last night. She wore silky, frilly pajamas given to her by the maids last night after Sasuke had given her over to them to take care of. They had helped her bathe (she'd never had to before and they seemed eager to help the "poor, unfortunate shipwreck survivor") and dress, and had guided her down the ornately furnished hallways and stairwells into the suite she had fallen asleep in, tucking her in beneath the warm sheets.

Now Sakura fought the urge to snuggle back into the bed she was in. She rubbed her eyes with her hands, glad that one of the maids had thought to subtly awaken her by opening the curtains. Sunlight poured in, and Sakura looked up to see a reflection of herself in the vanity on the other side of the room. She got out of bed and looked at herself.

Her blonde hair was messy, now that she had no water for it to flow about in. Still, after looking at it and tentatively grabbing a brush, she ran it through her hair to find it was easy enough to tame and manage. She was about to tackle a particularly nasty knot when a maid with long blonde hair burst through the doors. She held a steaming steel-covered dish of food that made Sakura's mouth water.

"Hello!" said the girl. She looked to be no older than Sakura, and her eyes - _Bluer than Naruto's,_ she realized - shined with confidence. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, and I hope we can be good friends!" She noticed the brush in Sakura's hands and gasped dramatically, eyes bulging. "Oh, no, none of that!" she scolded. Ino arranged things quickly so that Sakura was eating a breakfast of something called "sunny-side eggs and bacon" with berries called blueberries that resembled the seaweeberries in all but taste. Ino, meanwhile, chattered on about nothing in particular while braiding Sakura's blonde hair ("Ooh, your hair almost looks pink in this lighting! Talk about strawberry blonde!" Ino had cried), tying a red ribbon she had produced from one of the vanity's drawers around Sakura's head. "There!" she said, smiling. "You look beautiful!"

Sakura smiled up at her, finishing her food. Ino smiled.

"I would add makeup, or at least powder and blush, but..." She laughed. "It would just make you look fake! No, al naturale suits you best."

Sakura's smile broadened at the irony. _I'm a mermaid with legs,_ she thought. _That's hardly natural. _Still, she appreciated Ino's effort and bubbly enthusiasm. She knew the girl meant well.

Ino grinned.

"So, are we friends?"

Sakura nodded.

_Yes,_ she thought, _Yes we are._

Ino squealed delightfully and then hugged Sakura.

"Yay! The moment I saw you, I knew we would be!" She pulled on Sakura's braid playfully. "Now let's get you dressed!"

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Naruto sat in a salicornia-woven chair, his fin nervously twitching as he waited for someone here in Pacifica's central office to notice him.

After he realized it was useless to try and ascertain where Sakura had swam away to, Naruto had decided to go through with their original plan of action: to take back Oceanica.

But so far, Pacifica was proving difficult. He had yet to see Gaara, and when he had arrived he had seen some damage to the rooftops.

He had a sinking suspicion Orochimaru was involved somehow.

It was nearly afternoon, although from the angle of the sun shifting in through the hold in the roof, Naruto could tell there was still an hour or so left of morning. He stifled a groan. His muscles were sore from traveling non-stop to reach Pacifica, and he had only been able to eat seaweeberries from his basket. (Only red ones, just as Sakura had told him to; some purple had come along for the ride, after all, but he avoided them.)

Naruto recalled the last time he had seen Gaara. They had been swimming together in Atlantica (they were just goofing of), and Gaara had asked quietly if they really were friends.

_Naruto laughed._

"_Of course we are!" he yelled. "Believe it!"_

_Gara let the ghost of a smile creep onto his face at Naruto's exclamation._

"_I do," he said._

Naruto smiled now. He wondered what they would say to each other now, with Oceanica captured by the enemy and Pacifica (clearly) already being under siege.

He caught wight of blonde hair and shouted.

"Temari!" The mermaid flinched at his voice, turning to meet his eyes.

It was then that Naruto saw the panic on her face.

"Naruto!" she swam over to him. "Is your Father here, too? Oh, thank heavens! We need to form a war strategy," she continued. "Gaara's been taken by O-"

"Orochimaru, yeah," replied Naruto. "I know. I was there when a minion of his killed King Jiraiya. We need to arrange a b-"

"Wait," she said, brow furrowed. "Orochimaru... killed Oceanica's king?"

"Yeah," replied Naruto, feeling his stomach sink. "They've also got my Dad locked up."

Temari's eyes locked onto his.

"It was Oceanica that took Gaara," she told him.

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Three thoughts flashed in Sasuke's brain when the mysterious girl from last night entered the courtroom.

The first:_ Sakura._

The second: _No, not Sakura, she doesn't have pink hair._

And finally: _She looks... Gorgeous._

Her blonde hair caught the light, shining dazzlingly. Her blue dress subtly accentuated her curves but still provided modest cover, with a somewhat low neckline and long sleeves and a flowing skirt. Almost immediately, her eyes sought and found his; green and black met.

_It's just the light that's distracting me,_ he thought to himself. _She just so happens to be standing in it, so of course I'm noticing her._

Then his brother nudged him teasingly, and the spell was broken.

"She's new to the court," said her brother. "Is she by any chance the shipwreck refugee you kindly brought home with you last night?"

The way Itachi said "refugee" made it sound synonymous to "vermin" or "slime." Sasuke's eyes darkened in spite of himself.

"She is," he said. "I intend on showing her the kingdom." The last part simply slipped out. Sasuke reasoned to himself that it was because he wanted to give an excuse to his brother as to why he was not immediately throwing her out of the gates.

_I don't want her to go,_ he stubbornly realized. _She's interesting,_ he added on to convince himself._ I want to know more about her._

Thoughts of a mermaid with pink hair flashed through his head.

_And what they have to do with each other,_ he amended.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"You're not King yet, dear little brother," he chuckled. "Father will have to approve that."

Sasuke carefully kept his expression neutral. His brother Itachi had given up his right to the throne, taking the position of Duke instead; Sasuke was the future leader of Konoha.

"What Father does not know will not hurt him."

Itachi grinned.

"I won't tell," he said, "but you should know by now that nothing is hidden for long when Father is involved." He ruffled Sasuke's hair with a hand before walking away to socialize.

Sasuke grimaced, running his own hand through his hair.

_Well,_ he thought, _there's a first time for everything._

He noticed the girl still standing in the sunlight, awkwardly glancing this way and that. He caught her eye and motioned with his arm. She hesitated, then strode toward him.

He raised an eyebrow, amused, when she tripped, stumbling the last few steps towards him.

"Still not used to land?" he teased. Sakura smiled sheepishly before looking expectantly at him.

It took him a moment to register that she was waiting to hear why he had called her over.

It took a moment more to register he didn't really have one.

But he was a quick thinker. He let his first thought spew forth from his mouth.

"You look nice with the sun in your hair."

He mentally slapped himself and physically cringed. _Okay, _NOT_ what I meant to say_, he thought, groaning inwardly as the girl giggled silently at him, green eyes flickering with humor.

He cleared his throat, and right away, she stopped giggling.

"Would you care to see Konoha with me?" he asked her. She seemed to furrow her brow before recognizing the name. She nodded enthusiastically.

"Very well, then." He smirked down at her. "I'll see you at the gates after lunch. You are dismissed."

At her startled expression (and unbecoming "o"-shaped mouth) he gestured to the door. "You may leave now," he elaborated.

The girl flushed, turning (and, he saw amusedly, nearly slipping from the motion) and stomped away in an unlady-like manner.

He turned to look at Shikamaru, who was lounging by Chouji at the breakfast buffet. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Chouji stuffed his face.

Sasuke shrugged.

_Why not?_ he thought. _It's not like I'm losing anything by taking her on a tour. Except time, but I've got all the time in the world._

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Sakura recognized the name of the kingdom Sasuke would one day rule from one of her Mother's stories.

_"Mommy, where did the Prince live?"_

_"Above water, on land, sweetie."_

_"But his kingdom had a name, right? Just like ours is called Oceanica?"_

_The Queen's eyes lit with a smile._

_"He lived in a human land called Konoha," she said. "It is an ancient civilization, at least as old as Oceanica itself, and is very similar except that humans reside in it, not merfolk." Her Mother's eyes glazed over. "Oh, I'm sure it must be a wondrous place. It must have dresses and horses and all sorts of things merfolk can only dream of. And, of course, it probably has fire."_

_"Fire, Mother? What's that?"_

_The Queen smiled._

_"Why, it's difficult to explain. It's something that glows a deep orange and red, and can be warm. Oh, it can do so many things, terrible and wonderul alike. It can melt, it can burn, it can calm... It's something you would have to see to truly understand."_

_"So, Konoha is made of fire?"_

_Her Mother laughed._

_"No, Sakura, dear." she replied. "Konoha is made of cold, hard stone, as cool as ice and sturdier than coral. No, my child, it is her people who have fire within them."_

_"I thought you said fire burned! They wouldn't be able to live if they burned up, Mother!"_

_"It's not that kind of fire," her Mother explained. "It's fire, but not the kind that burns you. It burns into your heart, but that's all. It is still very powerful, though. The people of Konoha surely must have the will of fire within them."_

_"Mother, do you think I have fire in me?"_

_Her Mother smiled down lovingly at her._

_"Without a shadow of a doubt," she told her child. "It burns that brightly inside you."_

Sakura still didn't know what that meant, but she knew fire could burn. _If I can get my fire to burn Sasuke's, then that's all I need._

She walked back to her room, meeting (running into, actually, quite literally) Ino along the way.

"I heard you're going with Prince Sasuke," she whispered excitedly. "Let's get you dressed for the occasion!"

Sakura suppressed a groan.

_Not more dresses,_ she inwardly screamed. She calmed herself by looking at Ino's bright smile. _It makes my new friend happy,_ she reasoned, _So I can deal with it._ Her eyes narrowed as they alighted on the leaf insignia of Konoha hanging on a tapestry._ I have to._

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**AN: Short chapter, but the fire will be crucial (kinda) later on. I didn't want you to think it wasn't important.**

**Ino joined the cast. Yay! And what happened to Gaara? Next time, you may find out... Probably not, though XD Still, it will be revealed eventually.**


	8. Day One

**Icewater**

Chapter 8: Day One

**Disclaimer: See ch. 5.**

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The water was cold; Naruto had no clue where Temari and Kankuro were taking him, but there was a thin layer of ice coating the surface here. _That means it's cold,_ he thought redundantly. Really, _REALLY_ cold.

Naruto swam with them until they reached a series of caves, stretching about a sea-lots length. Naruto gaped. _It would take a long time to check every single one of these,_ he thought.

"Naruto, check down below," Temari yelled. "Look for an opening, or something!"

As Temari barked instructions at her brother, Naruto swam down, peering up at the caves. His eyes narrowed on a hole in the moss gathered on the bottoms of the caves.

"Here!" he yelled. The two siblings quickly joined him, and together, they slipped into the darkness. The light from behind them provided little help, and soon they were blindly grappling along the walls to continue moving forward, whispering to each other to make sure they stayed together.

Naruto saw light filtering down from somewhere ahead, and swam towards it.

"Follow me!" he said. The siblings did.

They came across a narrow tunnel leading up; a green light glowed from above.

"Okay, Naruto, listen." Naruto turned to Temari, who was slightly pale. "We're going to ask the sea witch of Arcticia for help saving Gaara."

"S-S-Sea Witch?" Naruto stuttered, fear lacing his voice. Temari huffed irritably, trying her beat not to whack the naive Prince of Atlantica on the head.

"Don't you know any legends, idiot?" Upon his innocent look, she scowled, rolling her eyes. "Before Arcticia was destroyed, it used to be the only surviving merfolk civilization able to wield magic. We had a defactress from Pacifica decades ago named Chiyo who went to Arcticia to learn the art." Her eyes met Naruto's; he seemed enthralled in the story. "She never came back. Even _YOU_ know that Arcticia was destroyed by Orochimaru."

Naruto nodded, puzzled. _What does Arcticia have to do with Gaara?_ he thought.

"Supposedly, the Princess of Arcticia traded her Kingdom's future for legs so she could meet some human she'd fallen in love with." Temari's tone was like venom, poisoned with disapproval.

Naruto's eyes widened. This story... The story of a Princess and a sea witch, of love between a mermaid and a human... It was...

"That was Granny Tsunade," Naruto said softly. "Tsunade used to be the Princess of Arcticia?"

His parents had told him the tale; he had simply assumed they called Tsunade a Princess in the story because it was simpler than explaining the complex promotion from citizen to Queen. He knew Tsunade had been an Antlantican for some time before marrying King Jiraiya; he had never dreamed she was the Princess of the fallen Arcticia.

He had never dreamed such a kind woman, the one who had given him the necklace he wore to this day, the woman who had so emphasized the importance of duty to her daughter, would trade an entire people for a mere human.

Temari nodded.

"And the sea witch who supposedly cast the spell was our defactress."

Naruto's mind reeled in its attempt to process all this information. So Tsunade had given up everything to chase a futile love, and Chiyo had agreed to it...?

He regained his senses, shaking himself from his thoughts.

"Let's go," he said. He followed the siblings up the narrow tunnel and into an air-filled cavern.

A woman with the legs if an octopus glanced at them. She sat down a narrow hallway, in the light of something green and crackling. Naruto looked at Temari and Kankuro. The puppet master cleared his throat.

"Sea Witch Chiyo," he began. The woman lifted a finger, effectively cutting his sentence off, and reached down. She pulled it up to show a hand sparkling with a golden, thin, shimmering dust of some kind. She threw it into the crackling thing before her and motioned with her arm. The light blazed red and purple.

"Well, come here, then," she said. "I like to speak face-to-face."

The two merman and one mermaid dragged themselves along the ground of the passage, coming into the room the sea witch sat in. Their eyes had already found the source of the other, less noticeable glow of the cavern: orange fire.

Naruto could hardly believe it.

"Fire," he breathed. "I thought it didn't exist except in legends."

Chiyo made a grunting noise. "How do you think humans eat meat?" she replied. "Raw? It's like eating a purple seaweeberry- suicide, pure suicide. You'll get sick, maybe even die." She dusted her hands of over the fire in the large bowl in the middle of the room, letting the remaining powder fall into the fire, re-kindling the purple and red. "And it's a cauldron, before any of you call it a bowl." Her eyes met Naruto's, and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Eheheh... Cauldron..."

"Ask of me what you desire," she said, turning to Kankuro.

He hesitated.

"As long as these flames burn, you may speak without harm or worry. I will be able to tell if you lie, though," she added. Kankuro gulped.

"We... We want our brother back."

Chiyo raised an eyebrow but did not speak.

"He was taken by Oceanica."

Chiyo's other eyebrow raised.

"I was under the impression that King Jiraiya was dead." Her words cut through the room, leaving silence in their wake aside from the hissing of the fire in the cauldron.

"Orochimaru has taken it."

Chiyo sighed.

"Of course," she muttered, "I should have known... Both of them came for legs, and both of them lose their kingdoms to the snake..."

Naruto's ears pricked.

"Legs?" he asked, perplexed. "Who are _'they?' _"

The old witch waved her hand dismissively at him.

"First, to take care of the matter of the Kazekage." She looked at Temari, who did her best to straighten her back. "I can save him, but it will require time. They have taken his life."

There was a pause, and then Temari gasped while hr brother let out a strangled cry. Naruto let out a roar.

"_WHAT?_!" he screamed. Chiyo returned his gaze with a neutral expression.

"I can save him," she repeated, "but the price is high."

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, and then nodded.

"We will pay the price," Temari said desperately. "Just get us back our brother."

She tsk-ed before throwing a handful of powder into the flames; they crackled a bloody red.

"I will take from both of you your most precious artifact." She snapped her fingers; a mannequin made of seastraw and a vibrant purple fan appeared. She looked at the siblings; they nodded. She snapped again, and the objects disappeared, winking out of existence. "In three days time, he will appear here. He will breathe; plunge him into the water, and he will open his eyes." With that, the flames lessened, burning green and red, flickering oddly in the light. The mix was so unnatural as it flickered on the walls.

"You two must leave now." The siblings cast a glance at Naruto before thanking the sea witch and leaving the caverns, returning to the water to leave the caves.

Chiyo sighed.

"And you, boy?" she asked, taking a handful and throwing it into the fire. It glowed purple and red again.

"I need to find Princess Sakura," he said. Chiyo looked him over.

"Young fancies," she chuckled, shaking her head. "They give way to unexpected love every time."

"I love her," Naruto replied. "I don't know exactly what you mean, but I'm not going to stop loving her." Chiyo's eyes found his again, crinkling old brown meeting young fiery blue. "I need to find her," he repeated.

Chiyo shrugged.

"Perhaps it is best that you try to bring her back," she said. He opened his mouth to offer a price; she lifted a finger.

"I owe it to Tsunade," she continued. "You will have three days time; if you have not retrieved Sakura by then, she will be human for four extra days, excluding the three she traded for, and you will be unable to return to land until after she has returned to the seas."

Naruto hesitated, then nodded.

"Whatever it takes," he said.

"Three days, boy," she said. "Do not bother to seek me out after that," she said, grabbing a handful of powder. "I am trading my life for the Prince's; in three days, when he breathes, I will cease to." She sprinkled the gold film on Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Prince of Atlantica and wielder of the Spirit of Nine Tails," she said. "You have one hour before your fin will split and form two legs. Fulfill your duty. Go!"

Naruto scrambled back to the water. He swam with all his might, not bothering to look which direction he swam after reaching the Ridges.

_I _must_ find Sakura,_ he thought.

He sighted land and became momentarily confused.

_This isn't Sasuke's castle,_ he thought. His eyes widened. _Oh, no! But I don't have ti-_

A whirlpool cut his thoughts off. He yelped as it surrounded his legs, whipping around them and peeling his scales off painfully.

"Aaaagh..!" his mouth filled with water, and he nearly choked. The whirlpool died away, and Naruto saw two legs.

He looked around him underwater and saw a salicornia bush. His eyes narrowed and he grabbed it, ripping it from the sandy soil. He swam up, gasping for breath. He looked at the bush in his arms and examined the beach before him. It was deserted, which would prove useful. He swam over to it, tentatively testing his legs and finding them suitable, if a bit wobbly. He sat on the sand and began weaving something similar to the shorts he had seen the sailors wearing two days previously.

It took him nearly the remainder of the day to knit something that could pass as human garb.

_I'll have to find some better clothes, though,_ he thought, weaving a basket from the remainder of the salicornia. He saved the flowers and placed them in the basket, eyes lighting considerably. _Maybe the humans will buy these!_ he thought happily, standing and making his way to the road of stone not far from him.

He walked for a time and then saw someone unexpected.

A girl, dressed in what looked to be fancy, stumbling towards him. She saw him, her light purple eyes widening, and ran to him.

"Help, sir, please!" she yelled.

Naruto was going to ask why when the answer presented itself to him.

A hulking bandit appeared, wielding a sword of metal. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he pushed the girl behind him.

"Run if things go badly," he told her.

More bandits were filing in around the main one, but that wouldn't matter. Naruto decided to give the plan forming in his mind a shot.

He tried lifting his palm and swirling; he felt the wind gathering, but then it flew apart. He pursed his lips; wind was harder to hold on to than water.

The girl hesitantly reached over and copied his hand motions.

Naruto felt the wind gathering, and he again resumed the motion.

The bandits charged them as the wind began picking up. Whatever the boy had up his sleeve, they didn't want to wait and see it.

Naruto spun his hand faster, and the girl moved to hurry her own palms. Together, their efforts produced a small, blue and white compacted ball. Naruto nodded and the girl slowly backed off.

Then Naruto ran at the fast-approaching enemies.

"Rasengan!" he yelled.

The impact sent him and all the bandits flying in various directions. He felt himself being caught in warm arms and turned to take the fall for the girl, who had tried to do the same for him.

They both let out "_oof_"s as they slammed into the rocky road. Wind still flew from the spot Naruto and the large bandit had clashed.

The blonde looked up to see the bandits sprawled out around the road, all unconscious.

"S-Sir..." the girl stuttered. "Th-that was..." she trailed off, clearly at a loss for words.

Naruto laughed, feeling fatigue sweep over him.

"Awesome?" he offered helpfully, grinning at her. Her eyes widened, and she blushed, nodding fervently.

"Y-yes," she said. "M-M-Most definitely..."

"Lady Hinata!"

Naruto saw her flinch away from him, no longer leaning over him in concern. She was an appropriate distance away from him not.

Naruto sat up, looking to the voice that had called to the girl.

"This boy s-saved me," she said. Naruto saw two men dressed similarly to her and others dressed in traveling garb. Naruto carefully looked at it, memorizing what they looked like.

_I'll have to get some,_ he thought. _So I can travel to Sasuke's castle._

"Thank you, sir," said the older man, bowing low. Naruto stood and hastily waved.

"Ahh, it was nothing, sir," he said. "Don't flatter me."

The older man looked him over.

"Let us set up camp for tonight," he said, signaling with his arms. "Arrest the bandits." Men ran past, doing as commanded.

Naruto had a sinking suspicion these people were royalty. The names of the royal families Sakura had said Sasuke mentioned swept through his brain.

_Inuzuka or Hyuga,_ he thought. _I wonder if these guys are either of those families._

"Please show this man to a tent," continued the older man, gesturing to Naruto. "Bring him suitable clothing; he will dine with us tonight." Naruto heard the girl gasp beside him and his own eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected turn if events.

_Guess I don't need the salicornia flowers anymore,_ he thought, looking around. He located the basket a few feet away from him, the flowers miraculously unharmed. He retrieved them and bowed deeply to the older man.

"Thank you for your kindness," he said.

"No, thank _you_ for reaching my daughter," the man replied. "You have done the Hyuga clan a great favor this night."

Naruto's eyebrows raised.

_The Hyuga, huh?_

"With all due respect, sir," Naruto said, "I must be on my way to seek an audience with Sasuke Uchiha."

The older Hyuga raised an amused eyebrow.

"Then you may travel with us," he replied. "We, too, have matters to attend to in Konoha."

Naruto tried not to look too stupid. The coincidences just kept piling up!

"Tell me you don't have a pink-haired girl with you guys," he laughed, half-joking. They looked at him oddly, as if what he said was absolutely preposterous. He shrugged. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. She has pink hair and green eyes."

"W-We haven't seen anyone like that," said the girl he had rescued. She bowed. "M-My name is Hinata Hyuga," she added, bowing. "Th-Th-Thank you for saving me."

Naruto laughed. "No problem! My name's Naruto Uzumaki." He grinned. "So, uh..." he trailed off, looking around and noticing the sun barely peeking out from beyond the horizon. "What now?"

The older Hyuga man chuckles, gesturing with his arms. "Clothes," he replied, and two men came up to lead Naruto away.

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"And that's the bakery we use for less-important parties," Sasuke finished the tour with a flourish of hand gestures, pointing out the final locations. "The rest are civilian houses. We won't be going there."

Sakura was beginning to believe it would be harder and harder to part with Konoha.

_No wonder Mother spoke of it so fondly,_ she thought. _It's a wondrous place._

"So..." Sasuke gestured at the bakery again. "Hungry?"

Sakura nodded, and they entered eagerly, letting the smell of bread and other assorted pastries enter their noses. Sakura sighed; human food smelled so exotic, but it was delectable nonetheless. Sasuke bought her a warm bread with a jelly of some kind in the center, and she savored it, enjoying the warmth the fresh food provided her. Sasuke himself got a simple piece of bread to eat. They got inside of the carriage again, and Sasuke took the reins. The horse trotted along the cobblestone road back up to the castle. The sunset was marvelous above water, and Sakura watched it happily.

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Sasuke cleared his throat.

"So did you enjoy seeing Konoha?" he asked. _Lame,_ he thought. _So lame, Sasuke. What's wrong with me? I can't form coherent sentences in her presence. _WHY?

She nodded. He smirked at her.

"Good," he said. The horse neared the castle, and the two traveled in awkward silence. They passed the beach, and he felt the girl tug on his sleeve.

"Hm?" he asked, looking at her. She pointed. His eyes followed her finger to see the ocean. "Yeah," he said, "Water. Wonderful." He turned back to steering the horses.

_Tug, tug._

Again, he saw her point at the ocean. He rolled his eyes and turned to the reins again-

_Tug, tug, tug._

He sighed.

"Yes?" he drawled, turning to face her, pulling the horses to a stop by the beach. They were almost at the gates again; a few more minutes, and he would back back at the castle.

She leapt out of the carriage, yanking his sleeve. He grunted, righting himself before leaping out after her, hurriedly tying the horses to a bush and praying the horses wouldn't try too hard to run away.

"Come back here!" he yelled after her, running to catch up. She had tossed her shoes off, lifting her skirt to splash in the water. He groaned; she was still getting her clothes dirty, despite her efforts. The maids would probably give him hell for that.

And so would his Father.

And suddenly, returning to the castle didn't seem so prudent anymore. He watched the girl splashing, smiling while her blonde hair whipped around her in a gust of wind, and then he took his shoes off as well. He rolled his pants up and joined her.

"This is much funner," he said playfully, taking a handful of seawater and throwing it on her. She gasped, startled, before grinning back at him, green eyes flashing, and splashing him back. He darted away, avoiding getting too wet, and kicked some water at her. She gasped again, and for a while they played like that in the sunset, water splashing and him screaming and laughing and her gasping and letting out would-be squeals of air. Finally, the sun disappeared, and Sasuke looked at the castle; Sakura had planned on splashing him, but refrained from doing so upon seeing the serious look on his face.

"We need to be getting back now," he said, taking her arm. He gently led her out of the waves. They put their shoes back on and retrieved the horses waiting patiently by the bush. They got back in the carriage and set out to the castle.

Sasuke glances at her and saw her green eyes widen and quickly look away, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as she realized she'd been caught staring. He smirked.

He amended his earlier thoughts of her. _She's _VERY_ interesting_. _Very different from most girls._ His smirk broadened. _I like that, though._

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Sakura collapsed on her bed. Today had been exhausting, but she had made leaps in her goal; Sasuke had nearly become a friend, and she had confidence in that the moment at the beach was something magical for him.

The problem was that it had been marvelous for her, too.

_Stupid! _she thought to herself. _Don't fall into the trap you're setting!_

She buried her head in a pillow. _Don't... Don't beat like this, you treacherous heart..._

But just thinking of Sasuke made her heart beat erratically; it ignored her plea.

_Ugh, _she thought. _Great. Just great._

She fell asleep grumbling to herself about how stupid she was, how stupid _HE_ was, and how stupid everything was.

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**AN: There was some confusion about last chapter. When Temari told Naruto Oceanica had taken Gaara, it was meant to imply that Orochimaru had successfully conquered Oceanica and had enough control over its army to launch an attack on Pacifica. Sorry that didn't come across as clearly as I had anticipated! I didn't mean to confuse any of you!**

**Also, sorry about any typos; I haven't had time to beta my own stuff because I'm babysitting, and I have essays to finish so I won't be posting for awhile, so I figured I'd better post while I still can!**


	9. The Dead of Night

**Icewater**

Chapter 9: The Dead of Night

**Disclaimer: See ch. 5.**

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It was the knock at the door that startled her initially.

Sakura's eyes shot open; she sat up, stunned silent, as someone rapped at her door yet again, impatiently. It was pitch-black in her room, aside from a few rays of light peeking out from under the curtains. She shuffled out of bed, throwing the curtains open to let silver moonlight seep in.

_Who would wake me up at near midnight?_ she thought incredulously. _Ridiculous! No one should disturb a Princess while she sleeps!_

She angrily shuffled to the door and pulled it open.

"_What do you wa-_" The air slipping out of her mouth cut off as the second surprise of the night stated back at her with his black eyes.

"_Sasuke,_" she breathed. He seemed to hear her say his name, although she had produced no sound, for he tilted his head in acknowledgement of her words (or, more precisely, the singular _word_).

"Hey," he said by way of greeting, smirking at her. She tried not to roll her eyes, putting a playful pout on her lips. "Aww, sorry," he teased, "Did I bother you?" Before she would have been able to reply, he continued, "Too bad."

She blinked at him, then grinned. He returned it with one of equal enthusiasm, although his smile did not stretch as far as hers.

He entered her room, looking quickly around before spotting a cape hanging in her wardrobe. He grabbed it, flinging it over her head.

"Come on, follow me," he said, taking her hand. "It gets chilly in Konoha at night," he added upon seeing her questioning glance. She noted he was wearing the coat he had given her the day he had found her on the beach - had that really been just the night before?

_It seems like it's been forever,_ she thought. _Even longer since I first saw him._ She looked at his back as he steered her this way and that, shoe-covered feet pounding into the floor as they ran through the corridors and bounded down stairwells.

At long last, they stopped at the gate, the one she had become familiar with already. It was of metal (as most protective things were here, she was learning).

Sasuke drew his hood and pulled some strands of her hair down to shield her face.

"Don't look up," he advised her. "We won't be able to leave if they recognize either of us." Then he hunched over, slipping his arm into hers, and walked towards the guards on duty standing by the gate.

"Good evening," he called out in an un-Sasuke-like voice; Sakura felt like laughing. _He would make an _awful_ tenor, _she thought.

"Good evening, sir," they replied. They looked the two over. "Where do you intend on taking your lady?" they asked. Sasuke laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close; she decided to put her hand on his chest for good measure.

"My wife and I are gonna go party in town," he said. Sakura nodded, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"Very well, sir," one said.

"I don't blame ya," said the other. "Tonight's sure to be a great night! Why, if I weren't on duty..." He began rambling on as the other opened the gate. Sasuke and Sakura left.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sasuke lowered his arm.

"Sorry about that," he said. Sakura shook her head, showing that she didn't mind. He smirked at her. "I bet that you liked that, huh?" he teased. Sakura frowned playfully, swatting his hand away and scrubbing her nose up at him, shaking her head.

"Oh, so I'm that repulsive?" He laughed when she nodded fervently. "Well, you're not."

Sakura smiled, flipping her hair over her shoulder vainly.

_Of _course_ I'm not,_ she thought smugly. Sasuke seemed to get the message, chuckling and shaking his head.

"So over-confident," he said. They walked like this for a time, teasing and joking, until the lights of the village came into view. Sakura was surprised; it was practically midnight, and yet so many people were still awake and bustling!

Sasuke saw the look on her face.

"Tonight's special," he said. "They're celebrating the successful treaty." Sakura's green eyes filled with recognition as she recalled his words two nights ago:

_"You all know the Treaty the Uchiha made with the Hyuga and Inuzuka has been going sour." A great murmur went through the men, and the boy continued. "It has been resolved!"_

Sasuke led Sakura through the crowds, keeping his hood up. They walked through the crowded marketplace that smelled of deliciously cooked and baked goods; stalls were set up selling little charms and sweets. Sasuke stopped and bought Sakura a bracelet.

"For you," he said, handing it to her. She smiled, putting it on. She was about to admire it, but then Sasuke took her hand again, and she was pulled once more into the flood of people, the throngs of legs bustling to and fro. Sasuke led her, dragging her this way and that until finally they were standing on the roof of a tall building, among others who were also waiting atop it for something.

She tugged Sasuke's sleeve, and he looked down at her.

She motioned at them and the rooftop. _What gives?_ she asked him like this. _What are we doing up here?_

He grinned, touching his index finger to her unmoving, silent lips. Both of their hearts raced as they felt something akin to electricity jolt through them at the contact. Sasuke regained his senses first.

"You'll see," he whispered.

Sakura, bewildered, nodded.

_What was that?_ she asked herself. _That couldn't have possibly been...?_

She didn't finish her thoughts as Sasuke squeezed her hand and pointed with his other.

**BOOM!**

An exploding star lit the sky, falling and fading; another took its place. Sakura stared, wide-eyed and utterly excited.

_This is what it must have looked like on the ship, a little,_ she thought. _This is what it must have felt like seeing the shooting stars beside Sasuke on the boat two nights ago._

She squeezed his hand back as one thought flashed through her mind; it startled her, yet at the same time, it did not surprise her one bit.

_I can't go through with this,_ she thought. _I can't hurt him._

She looked at his eyes, seeing the shooting stars reflecting in them.

_I can't break his heart. Because I would break mine, too, if I did._

She closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of breathing and stars shooting up and dying into nothingness.

_It's too late not to fall into the trap,_ she thought. _I've already fallen into it._

And the more she moved, the more she struggled to be free, she would fall even deeper.

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The moon was beginning its descent in the sky. Sasuke and Sakura were beginning to walk back to the castle.

"You know," he said, "We really shouldn't be out here. Especially not together."

The girl paused in her walking. Her green eyes lit with curiosity.

Sasuke sighed.

"My Father doesn't approve of me running around with a commoner like you," he explained. The girl's eyes twinkled in amusement, as if questioning his placing her in middle-class. "He doesn't believe in... _friendships_ outside of royalty."

Whoops, that was close. He had almost said marriages. It was true in either case, but Sasuke cringed inside. _Why did _THAT_ one pop into my head?_ he thought, alarmed. _Of all the things..._ He cleared his mind.

"He ordered the guards to not let us leave together," he told her. Her eyes shined with understanding. "He doesn't mean to seem rude to you," he hastened to say.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Er... Well... Oh, you know what I mean."

She nodded, understanding alighting upon her features.

"But anyways..." Sasuke was rambling now, and he knew it. He hurried his mind to think of something to say. "The moonlight brings your eyes out."

He slapped his head.

**WHAT**_ did I just say?_ he mentally screamed at himself. _Please not that, _PLEASE NOT...!

The girl's mouth formed a startled "o," a blush blooming on her cheeks as her eyes widened.

He groaned. _Darnit,_ he thought, _I _did_ say that.._.

"Uh, that's not what I meant to say..." he mumbled, then cleared his throat. "So," he said, trying his best to maintain a somewhat dignified air. "Shall we sneak out again tomorrow?"

The girl blinked at him, and then a grin broke out on her face. She nodded exuberantly.

Sasuke smirked at her and took her hand as they neared the gates.

"Same act tomorrow night, then," he said, drawing the hood back over his head.

Her green eyes glittered at him, the moon shining back at him in them.

_Yes,_ he thought, feeling her hand in his. _Same act tomorrow night._

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Sakura was about to fall asleep again. Sasuke had safely delivered her to her room, and she had carefully placed the cape back in the wardrobe.

Exhaustion was threatening to overcome her as she laid her head down on her pillow.

_I'm sure to dream of stars tonight,_ she thought lazily. _Maybe Sasuke will be in them, too, watching them with me like he did earlier..._

She closed her eyes.

A roaring snapped the back open. She sprung out of bed, fearful eyes locking onto the fireplace.

It was burning a vibrant green.

Chiyo's face appeared in it.

"Sakura," she said. "Time is of the essence. Listen well."

"Ch-Chiyo...?" Sakura muttered; the return of her voice startled her.

"In two days time - since today is over, my dear - I will die. Do _not_ interrupt me, girl, I am not _FINISHED_! In three days time, your hair color will return to you. I am working on preparing a spell that will restore your Siren voice- your above-water voice - to you."

"B-But my legs-" began Sakura.

"Should Naruto Uzumaki find you in two days, you will revert back to a mermaid," Chiyo said. Sakura gasped.

"Naruto..." she breathed. "He's...?"

"The boy is searching for you on foot, yes," replied Chiyo. "If he fails, you will have four more days."

"But..." Sakura's voice cracked. "I can't do it," she said. "I can't break Sasuke's heart..."

Chiyo waved a hand at her; it sprang to life, crackling in the flames.

"I'm sure you will have a new goal within a matter of days," she said dismissively. "That is not important right now. This is about your kingdom."

Sakura's eyes looked at Chiyo's through the flames.

"What?" she asked.

"Orochimaru intends on taking over the ocean," she said, "But there is another who plans on conquering it as well."

Sakura's brow furrowed.

"What...?" she asked.

"I know little more than you," admitted Chiyo. "I only know that he has already taken the land; he will not wait long before he guns for the sea. Be_ careful_, Princess; he may seek it out through you."

"_WHO_?" asked Sakura.

"His name is-"

The flames died. Sakura yelled as red ones took their place. She looked into blood-red eyes.

**"Sleep, mermaid,"** rumbled a deep voice. **"I have no interest in you; you are no longer linked to your country, in any case."** The red eyes narrowed. **"You are free to stay,"** said the man, **"But when your time is up, do not return."**

The flames flickered out of existence, leaving a small stream of smoke in their wake that quickly dissipated into the air of Sakura's room.

Slowly, Sakura rested her head back on her pillow.

_What...?_

She did not bother finishing her thought. She was too tired to put the pieces together tonight; they could wait.

She fell asleep, but did not dream of Sasuke or stars.

She dreamed of Oceanica burning in crimson flames, eyes of a matching red searing it to ash while she wailed helplessly in her piercing Siren voice.

The bracelet, which she still had yet to observe, stayed on her wrist that night.

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**AN: Lungs-chan, your insight is amazing. But I'm not going to reveal which couple is going to suffer from the prophecy :P**

**As for the rest of you, I expect more reviews! I need to know if my writing is still confusing anyone - please let me know! And also, I just want to know you enjoyed the chapter, so please review! Thanks!**


	10. Water and Earth

**Icewater**

Chapter 10: Water and Earth

**Disclaimer: See ch. 5.**

**Enjoy...**

**And review please!**

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Naruto rubbed his eyes, yawning. The Hyuga servants had woken him up early (no easy feat) and they were on the move now, despite the fact that the sun was barely creeping out from the horizon.

"Like sleep," he mumbled to no one in particular. The nearly-rocking movement of the horse (as Hyuga Neji had called it; he wondered how it was possible sea-horses had gotten their name from these creatures when they were hardly alike) he sat upon was lulling him back to sleep, and he honestly didn't feel like fighting against it.

And so it was that Naruto Uzumaki fell asleep.

He was carefully watched over by a pair of white-lavender eyes.

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Sakura woke again to sunlight streaming on to her face; she looked and saw Ino standing there, smoking down at her, having just pulled the curtains open.

"Good morning, sleepy-face," she said teasingly. Sakura tried laughing but settled for a grin when it didn't come out right.

_Three days,_ she told herself, _and I'll be able to talk._ She frowned inwardly. _Or was it two? No, wait... Uhm..._

"What's wrong?" Ino reached out and touched Sakura's forehead with the back of her hand. "Not a fever... Oh my goodness!" The blonde maid practically screeched the last part, jerking her hand away and staring wide-eyed. Sakura snapped back to the present, pushing her jumbled memories to the back of her mind.

At Sakura's equally surprised expression, Ino laughed heartily.

"It's just... Your forehead!" She laughed, coming forward to help Sakura out of bed. "It's so _HUGE!_ I've never seen anything like it!"

Sakura tried not to roll her eyes; as a matter of fact, the forehead came from her Father's side of the family (her non-Arctician side, she realized now) and was a rare and coveted thing among merfolk. Apparently, although probably just as rare above land, if not more so, it was not as precious here.

"I'm glad we tied your hair back yesterday," she continued, "Because that made it look perfectly normal! Well, let's see, what to do today then...?" Ino brushed Sakura's short hair while another servant brought in breakfast for the (currently blonde) pinkette. Sakura looked carefully at the servant's eyes; they were green, a duller one than her own. Ino had blue eyes; but something in the back of her mind was telling her to look for red ones. She couldn't remember where, but she had a feeling she wasn't connecting an important piece of the puzzle.

"Oh, where did you get the bracelet?" squealed Ino. Then the blonde frowned. "Don't tell me you _slept_ with it _on_! Oh, dear!" She pulled it off Sakura's wrist and put it on the bedside table. "Don't sleep with something so nice, you never know what might happen to it while you sleep," she admonished. Sakura huffed in mock annoyance and Ino laughed, hurrying back over. "We'll do something scandalous, I think," said Ino, winking at her (seemingly) blonde-haired and green-eyed companion.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

_Scandalous is trading legs for a chance to seduce a human boy,_ thought Sakura. _Top _that,_ Ino._

The servant girl pulled a drawer open, scouring through its contents before grinning and yanking a piece of fabric out.

"Aha!" she cried. "I knew there was one in here!" She took the fabric and carefully tied it around Sakura's hair, knotting it below at the nape of her neck.

"And now a bodice, and then some rather gaudy earrings..." Ino paused, tilting her head. "Oh, never mind," she said, putting away the large hooped metal pieces she had procured. "Your ears aren't pierced." Ino's eyes brightened. "Then I know _just_ what to use!" She ran from the room and returned after a few minutes, during which Sakura had finished her breakfast.

"Here!" cried Ino, holding dangling objects on looped strings. "These were made - along with hundreds of others of the same kind - as a gift for the last princess who visited, but she didn't want them, so Sasuke let _us_ have them." Sakura eyes the objects with renewed interest. "I have no use for these, so you can have them!"

She placed the strings around Sakura's neck. She heard a click and realized they were necklaces. Her minds eye flashed to the one Naruto would wear, and Sakura realized that the gift to her blonde merfriend must have been given to her Mother by someone from Konoha.

"Let's get you out of here now!" squealed the blonde servant. She led Sakura down to the court, where people were socializing. Sakura received a number of odd looks as soon as she walked in; she tried to focus on the wide-eyed surprise on Sasuke's face instead.

_That's new,_ she thought, grinning. He usually tried to hide his emotions.

Almost as soon as she thought it, Sasuke concealed his face again, place his convenient poker face on as he strolled over to greet her.

"I thought I told you my Father doesn't enjoy the company of commoners," he murmured. "You're in clothing resembling that of a gypsy's."

Sakura tilted his head, not understanding what he meant by that.

"Thieves and witches," he said dismissively, running a hand through his hair. Sakura frowned; thieves she understood, but what was wrong with witches?

Chiyo wasn't so bad, after all.

Sasuke took her arm and whispered to her.

"Change of plans; we're leaving in five minutes."

Sakura's startled green eyes met his dark ones.

_Why?_ she thought.

He saw the question in her eyes.

"Visitors in the evening," he said. "The Hyuga sent a courier ahead to tell us they've come to see Father to talk about something."

The way his face darkened when he said Father showed he really didn't really like his 'Father' much. At all, actually.

He took her arm and casually led her to the gardens.

Then he started running, dragging her past the floral arrangements (Sakura was a bit disappointed she wasn't going to be able to admire the plants Ino's family grew and nurtured for the royal family here) and to a wall. He threw his fancy suit-jacket off, revealing a rather plain-looking white shirt underneath. He rolled his trousers up and then kneeled, motioning her over.

"I'm gonna push you up; go over it, don't break anything, and don't be seen," he told her. She nodded. He used his hands to help push her shoe so she could grab the edge of the wall; Sakura mused that the tree growing slightly over the gate would block the guards' view of them, which was probably why Sasuke had chosen this location. She pulled herself up, feeling a last helpful push from Sasuke, and then she swung her legs over, offering her hand. Sasuke took it, pulling slightly for support as he swung his leg up and over the wall. Then he dropped and held his arms out to help (catch; Sakura wasn't nearly as experienced with leg movement as he was) her as she got down. Just when they were beginning to stare at each other, he relinquished her waist from his grip, turning and taking her hand before sprinting; Sakura followed silently, heart pounding.

_Surely this is what it feels like to be truly free,_ she thought, slippers tapping lightly on the dirt as she dashed along behind Sasuke. _This is what it feels like to be normal, to not be royal, to be human, to not be bound by anything except your heart._

They ran on. There was a little dirt path they were traveling on; Sasuke was not taking her back to the city, she realized. They were headed for the green things called the forest. Sasuke had pointed them out on their tour of Konoha.

_"Those are the trees of the Konohagakure forest," he said, pointing at the tall plants peeking out from behind the walls bordering Sasuke's kingdom_.

'Both out worlds aren't so different,' _she thought._ 'He lives stuck in the air and a gate; I lived stuck in the water and a gate. The only difference is that I can swim; he can't fly.'

_"Konoha was founded long ago, and the trees planted and cared for by our first ruler. The common folk say that as long as the trees stand tall, Konoha will be safe from all outside threats. They believe the trees are spirits that protect them and bring them stability and prosperity in their lives."_

_Sakura nodded in understanding; there were similar tales undersea in regards to mosses hanging on the coral gates of ones house._

_"I believe it, too." His murmur caught her off guard. He, a Prince, who surely knew that trees hardly had little effect on political relations, believed in spirits?_

_He must have seen the question in her eyes, because he shrugged._

_"Many civilizations have fallen as the centuries passed." he said. "Ours hasn't. Even dumb luck doesn't hold out forever. Only magic can."_

_Sakura smiled to herself at his last statement._

'Yeah, magic,' _she thought. '_Something so utterly powerful it can't even last a month.'

It was only when the trees towered over her that Sakura realized why Sasuke might believe the trees were alive.

Some were only slightly taller than her, but up close, the vast majority of them were humongous and tall, reaching far higher than Sakura could ever possibly hope to climb. The green leaves cast shadows on the ground, glittering and shifting as sunlight filtered through them and shone on the dirt floor of the forest, the wind ruffling the leaves ever so slightly, making patterns of sunshine fade and morph. Sakura reached out and was surprised to find solid bark under her hand, as opposed to the fluidly flexible stems of most underwater shrubs.

_This is the wood they make their ships from,_ she thought. _This is the substance that yields only to ice and conquers even those who shape it._

All she could do was stare in wonder.

"You'd think you'd never seen a tree before," chuckled Sasuke's baritone voice. Sakura looked up. He stood a few feet away, motioning to her. They began to traipse through the forest, feet crunching on the leaves and grass on the forests ground. Sakura heard chirping sounds; she caught the glimpses of colorful birds (unlike the plain seagulls and pelicans that occasionally stole their dinner from Oceanica's waters) and their fluttering wings as they flitted about among the foliage. She heard the light pitter-patter of forest animals running and hopping around, and the rabbits didn't even try to conceal themselves from her and Sasuke.

The deeper in they went, the taller the trees became. Smaller and smaller sprinkles of sunlight dotted the floor, but Sasuke continued going further in, so Sakura followed silently.

Gradually, after what had to have been about an hour, Sakura realized suddenly that the light was growing brighter; she squinted beyond Sasuke and saw that the trees were becoming scarce and shorter, matching the height the trees had been upon entering the vegetation. Sakura became aware of a constant rustling sound; but there was no wind. She put the thought aside; it was getting louder, but it must have been the leaves rustling together.

She did not notice that there was no wind to do such a thing.

Sasuke had taken her on the shortest route through the forest. She wondered where he had brought her, curious now.

She caught up to him at the edge of the foliage and gasped.

Not just because he smirked and took her hand.

But because she had never before seen water cascading down land, water and ground combined and in harmony together.

_I thought our worlds never mixed,_ Sakura thought. _We can't walk on land, and they can't breathe underwater. They can't constrict us, and we can't control them. That was the point of the Prophecy, after all. It took a battle and a broken heart to keep our worlds apart._

Her Mother's last words returned to her mind suddenly.

"_D-Don't... Lose... Him..."_

Maybe there was still a chance. Maybe what had happened in the past was a mistake- maybe their worlds could mix still.

"I thought you might like it."

Sasuke's voice brought her back to reality.

She turned.

There he stood, sunlight dripping off his hair, a grin on his face and the rushing of the falling water connection him forever to her life.

"This is an old waterfall," he said. "It's in legends, but my brother and I are - _were_ - the only ones who knew about it. Now there are three of us." He led her by the hand - the contact was almost searing her, making her heart pound and her fingers tingle with an unidentifiable energy - to the edge of the water, spray from the hard splashes hitting their clothes and faces.

Sakura closed her eyes, the moments here already burning themselves into her consciousness. She opened them and looked at the falling water - a waterfall, a practical and literal name for something that stood for so much more to her - and watched the water hurtle downwards, slamming into the rocks and water below. The water reflected the sunlight and formed a little rainbow stretching out from where it collided with the bottom and arced forwards to the rippling surface water just a few inches away from where she and Sasuke stood.

Her eyes watered.

She fell to her knees, soft, rich grass comfortingly embracing her legs. She let her hands fall to her sides and looked up at the waterfall and cried, tears leaking from her eyes and falling to the dirt and grass, mixing with the water droplets from the waterfall.

"Hey, what...?" Sasuke didn't finish, just kneeled beside her and watched her cry, his hand slowly letting go of hers to rub circles on her back. It was a tentative gesture on his part, a nervous attempt at soothing her, but she was grateful for it.

_All this time,_ she realized. _All this time, merfolk have avoided the surface because of humans, and humans need boats to keep themselves distanced from us. But all along, we could have been living together, could have lived cascading down the land and floating in the oceans together, side by side._

_Mother's love didn't last._

Sakura looked at Sasuke, his eyebrows being the only giveaway that he was concerned; they furrowed a little, slanted downwards slightly, and immediately his dark eyes locked onto hers.

She was in love with him.

_But maybe _**we**_ can cascade together... Just maybe._

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Sakura had finished crying after some time, and Sasuke and she simply sat there, staring at the waterfall and stealing sideways glances at each other, a contented silence (except for the trees and water and occasional bird) reigning.

Sasuke broke it finally.

"I thought you would like this place because you like water a lot." Sakura nodded, smiling at him, green eyes flecked with the rainbow from the waterfall. "I know you've got more to do with it than you let on."

Sakura ignored the sinking of her stomach.

If he knew, if he had figured it out, then she would not deny it. Sasuke was intelligent and wise, and Sakura would be stupid to try to hide that from him once he already knew.

But maybe he didn't.

"I don't know what it is, exactly," he continued. "Maybe you're some princess from across the sea." He laughed at that; Sakura smiled, inwardly amused. _Something like that,_ she thought back. But he couldn't read minds, so he did not hear that.

"But I don't really care. You're different... From everyone -" Sasuke caught himself. "... From _any human on Earth_ that being I've _ever_ met."

Sakura's heart raced.

He had specified human. He only saw her as a human right now. It didn't surprise her - her blonde locks and lack of a flipper made it difficult for even she herself to specifically see the things that _DID_ make her the mermaid from three days ago.

But he had decided to amend his statement to say _human._

Did that mean that she was something special to him even when she was a mermaid? _Of course it does,_ she realized. _He wouldn't talk about Naruto like this, even if they got along well. He means other women, not just other people._

A thought struck her: _Is he trying to tell me he likes me...?_

_No, _she reasoned. _I haven't spent enough time with him for that; he barely recognizes me as a friend; I've still got four more days before he should be falling for me._

_But I fell for him in less than that,_ she thought also. _Maybe he fell for me, too...?_

"I want you to stay in the castle."

Sakura's heart raced like crazy. _This is it,_ she thought. _If he _HAS_ fallen for me, he would tell me tonight or tomorrow._

**No, he wouldn't.**

Sakura mentally lurched backwards.

_What?_ she thought._ I-Inner...? __What-_

**Don't lock yourself behind a door, Sakura. As long as you're still outside of it, I can and will always be able to let myself out.** Inner Sakura narrowed her eyes a her perplexed other self. **But let me tell you, it was **_**not**_** easy. Don't make me do it again.**

_But-you-I-_

**Sakura, listen to me.** Her alter ego cut her off, its voice serious and hurried, eyes filled with concern. **The Hyuga aren't coming for a social call,** she said. **There's a **_**reason**_** we saw the shooting stars that night. You've already fallen in **_**love**_** with him, stupid! We have to leave, **_**NOW,**_** before the Hyuga come, or else everything will end horribly for us.**

_Why?_ Sakura asked her Inner, skeptical. _What's so wrong with Sasuke's family having guests over?_

_**THINK,**_** you idiot!** hissed her Inner. **What color were Sasuke's eyes when we first locked eyes with him?**

_Black,_ she answered without hesitation. _Black eyes..._

She trailed off as the realization hit her.

**That swirled red,** finished her Inner. **The Uchiha all have red eyes. The eyes from the fire - they belong to someone in Sasuke's family. It's not just Orochimaru who wants to take control of ****Oceanica, Sakura. Chiyo said land was more dangerous for our kingdom than water. We need to go home. **_**Now.**_** It's not just the Uchiha we need to fear. Sasuke-**

"Will you stay?"

Sakura blinked, the inner war raging in her mind coming to a halt before scurrying forward full-throttle.

**No!** screamed her Inner. **We have to leave! If you stay, then tonight, we'll be b-**

_If I don't stay,_ Sakura explained to her counterpart,_ I'll regret it for the rest of my life._

Sakura looked into Sasuke's eyes now.

They did not turn red. They stayed as solid as her decision did.

She nodded with conviction.

**You're gonna regret it much more later,** replied her Inner in a defeated tone. **I tried. I really did. It's not over; tonight, when the Hyuga arrive, we're going to cry for a different reason. Our worlds **_**cannot**_** mix.**

_We'll see,_ Sakura replied mentally as she smiled at Sasuke. He returned it with equal enthusiasm, and she detected a hint of relief in it as well. _We'll see._

Sakura was not going to worry about the man with the red eyes right now. She was still with Sasuke; she was going to etch these moments into her memory forever, so she would not forget them.

_And by tomorrow, I might know if he loves me back._

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**AN: Although you probably don't think this chapter counts, it's leading up to the next ones. Inner's return is crucial.**

**Naruto and Hinata will be back next chapter! Are they going to arrive at Sasuke's castle before the end of the night, or is something going to throw them completely behind schedule? (The latter, of course! XD) **

**Thanks for all the reviews. More, please! The feedback and insight and questions are so stimulating and interesting, it just makes me really happy! Please keep them coming - I always need feedback, and reviews help encourage me to write!**

**So yeah. Hope you enjoyed.**

**Review!**


	11. Two Days 'til I can Tell You

**Icewater**

Chapter 11: Two Days 'til I can Tell You

**Disclaimer: See chapt. 5. On a side note, I love beignets. I had one last week. Delicious!~~~**

**Enjoy.**

**Review!**

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It was late afternoon when Naruto was roused from his sleep by shouts and cries. He jerked upright on his steed, immediately feeling something amiss.

"Hey, what gives?" he yelled; in front of him, the horses and carts of the Hyuga's were stopped, gathering around a figure in front of them.

"Th-There's some sort of f-f-f-fish that ca-can't be killed up ahead," said a soft, airy voice. Naruto turned in his saddle and saw the girl he had rescued before looking nervously at him; when their eyes met, she looked down shyly, her hands anxiously clapped together by her heart.

What had she told him her name was again? Hinaya... Hitana...!

"Hinata!" he exclaimed. He grinned when she looked up in acknowledgment of her name. _Yes!_ he thought happily. _I got it right!_

"Y-yes?" she asked. Naruto's grin grew wider.

"What do ya mean by fish?"

Hinata blushed and pointed in front of them.

"I-It's unusual, unlike any we-we've ever seen before," she said, "and has black and red scales and orange fins on its head."

Naruto frowned; the colors together reminded him of something... But what? He didn't know any merfolk who could turn into fish; besides, he knew no fish _or_ merfolk who had those colors.

_"Long live Orochimaru!"_

Naruto's eyes widened. He spun around in his saddle and set his horse to gallop forward, joining the crowd; he hopped off and pushed his way to the front.

His instincts screamed at him as soon as he saw the fish.

It flopped on the ground, evading the hands attempting to catch it and the pans and hooves aimed to smash it. The single orange fin decorating it's head was spiky and decorative; it's scales were black with red cloud linings.

Just as the man with the orange hair had a black fin with red clouds.

Almost as soon as Naruto recognized the fish, it seemed to recognize him, its purple eyes finding his blue ones.

It stopped flopping.

"_RUN!_" screamed Naruto.

His warning was useless. As soon as he had finished, a blast of wind swept around the fish, blowing all those who had surrounded it backwards; Naruto skidded on the dirt pavement, wincing as a rock dug into his shoulder upon impact. He stopped sliding a few feet from his startled horse; he sat up and quickly leapt to his feet.

The sky was no longer a cheery blue; dark clouds gathered, forming a whirlwind around the fish; it's scales were ripped off, swirling away, and the fish seemed to be being torn apart; but when a fish feature was pulled off, a human feature was revealed under it. It was a peculiar and odd transformation to watch, but everyone was transfixed by it, watching in horror as the fish became a man. The whirlwind peeled the final scales off, revealing toes.

Naruto knew it was not Chiyo who had given the man human legs.

The man with orange hair stood impassively, scales billowing around him, sticking to his body; they melted together into the fabric of a coat.

"Out of the way, horrific creature of the ocean!" screamed a Hyuga, raising his sword.

Naruto did not know what to expect as the whirlwind blew itself to nothingness and the man looked at the raised weapon of the approaching Hyuga.

The breeze picked up again.

All the people within five feet of the orange-haired man were flung backwards, painfully; the one nearest was cut across the chest by the sharp wind blowing him backwards. Naruto grabbed Hinata and braced himself, his feet digging into the ground so he was not thrown backwards by the wind as it proceeded outwards; it was no longer deadly enough to harm when it reached them, but still strong enough that Naruto and Hinata had to lean all their weight forward so as not to fly backwards.

Through the blowing gust, Naruto squinted. He saw the man with the orange hair look back to Naruto, narrowed purple locking on to widened blue. He began slowly approaching.

Naruto wasted no more time. He grabbed Hinata, tossed her upon his horse, leapt up behind her, and set his horse at a full-blast dash away from danger. Naruto did not need to turn around to know they would be pursued; he heard the hooves of a horse clapping behind them, along with many outbursts from the Hyuga.

"Ah!"

Hinata let out a startled yelp, finally reacting to having been snagged up by the blonde boy. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, and he grinned cheekily.

"Let's get outta here, huh?"

She looked over his shoulder and nodded.

"Naruto," she said, "Please hurry! He's a-a-after us!"

Naruto grunted, trusting her words, and urged the horse forward.

_I'm sorry,_ Sakura, he thought. _I might not get to you in time._

He narrowed his eyes and hopped off the horse, leaving a startled Hinata with the reins. He skidded to a stop, rolling to lessen the impact, and then stood, beginning to spin his hands together quickly.

_But I can try!_

As the wind began to pick up, and the horse holding the man with the orange hair drew dauntingly closer, Naruto roared.

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"Hey!"

With the breath of a groan, Sakura turned over in her bed, unwilling to respond. She was emotionally (and physically) taxed from this morning/afternoon. The events at the waterfall cascaded through her mind as surely as the waters in the waterfall fell, and just as quickly, just as fluidly, Sakura roused herself and sat up.

Ino was looking at her funnily, her eyebrow raised and her mouth in a half-smile; Sakura immediately placed it as Sasuke's fake grin. The servants had undoubtedly picked it up from him, she realized.

**And they must undoubtedly use it for the same reason.**

Her Inner was right. Sakura wiped the last reserves of exhaustion from her face and scrutinized the blonde servants face.

Ino's normally glowing personality was missing; her smile did not reach her eyes, and she had not found anything to tease Sakura about.

She asked he question with her eyes and Ino answered it.

"The King wishes to see you."

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Her eyes must be failing her.

They _had_ to be.

And yet as the wind whipped forth around her, billowing so strongly she knew her horse could go no closer, Hinata knew her eyes did not lie to her.

What she saw was exactly what it appeared to be.

Naruto had sprouted tails.

Not one, not two.

_Three._

The marks on his cheeks - the ones she had assumed he must have picked up in skirmishes, because he had appeared to be an experienced fighter from the moment she met him - had thickened.

And the wind in his hands was spinning _so_ quickly.

The man who had been the unkilleable fish was also attacking with the air, his palms reaching for Naruto; his attack was so fast, so utterly powerful that, like Naruto's, the wind gathered for the blow was _visible_, gusts billowing about. The wind cut through itself, aiming to destroy one man or the other, whichever would prove to have less control over the slicing gusts.

Naruto yelled again, a sound so piercing and unthinkably inhuman that Hinata's horse - Naruto's, actually, but that didn't matter at the moment - reared in fear. Hinata screamed, falling off, and could only stare in horror while the panicked horse stomped on one of her ankles in its hurry to flee. It galloped away, and Hinata screamed again, this time in pain.

She heard the inhuman roar and then the wind blasted forward; and then Naruto was at her side. His tails had disappeared, and he looked at her in worry.

"Hinata, are you okay?"

Hinata wanted to laugh at the irony.

"A-Are _you_?" she managed to reply.

He was covered in cuts, bleeding lines decorating his skin, his clothes now merely tattered hanging strips of cloth on his body. His eyes were bluer than usual, darkened and deepened by the dark sky.

Hinata looked up to the clouds now.

"Guh..." She took in a sharp breath and tried to stand; Naruto caught her before she nearly tumbled forward, steadying and balancing her.

"Easy," he said. Hinata nodded gratefully, preparing to limp forward. She looked ahead, turning away from Naruto's blue eyes.

In a moment, she realized what was going to happen.

The orange-haired man, the unkilleable black fish, was up, injured but not subdued. He was charging, and his hands were poised to thrust a grey cloud-and-air-and-wind combination at Naruto, who was too busy supporting her to properly defend himself.

She did not wince when she put pressure on her broken foot by stepping on the ground with it. She pushed Naruto with all her might, and he stumbled away from her, stunned.

She did not have _time_ to wince for pain of her foot injury.

She screamed for a third time as wind ripped through the flesh on her side.

"_HINATA!_"

She fell. The sky was foggy, the world quickly dimming.

She breathed heavily; she BLED heavily.

And Naruto yelled again.

This time, it was not inhuman; it was animal.

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Once again, Sakura found herself thrown into the uncomfortable setting of the court. The politics were the same as in Oceanica, of course: the lords and ladies socialized and gossiped about trivial matters while the monarchs and royal guests discussed real-world (or back home, real-ocean) problems. But the discussions themselves puzzled Sakura. Already, a materialistic woman clothed in an ugly feathered dress and gaudy flower-covered hat had asked Sakura her opinion on "Lady Karin's Black Widow Dance." Sakura neither knew Lady Karin nor what dancing was, but she handled the woman well enough. She simply poked her throat and the woman sympathized, cooing over Sakura's unfortunate circumstances before turning to a passing nobleman to ask him something about his wife.

Sakura could not see either of the Uchiha brothers around.

_The King must want to talk to me alone,_ she thought. _How strange..._

Suddenly the doors to the court swung open, and a person (she assumed a man) stumbled in; his black hair and black clothing would have marked him as an Uchiha had he not been a few shades paler than any Uchiha she had ever met. Besides, he held in his hands a canvas, and an assortment of paintbrushes.

The nobles took no notice of the man as he stalked towards the thrones.

Sakura blanched.

_He can't be the King,_ she thought, mind scrambling. _He's only Sasuke's age, there's _no_ way..._

The boy sat in the King's chair and lifted his canvas, peering intently a the crowd before beginning to paint, producing a pallet from somewhere to use, which he placed precariously on one of the armrests on the throne.

_What an idiot, _Sakura thought. She was relieved; the human male was only a _painter_, not the ruler himself.

"He is a klutz, isn't he?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she spun around.

Itachi stood, arms crossed, face expressionless despite the humor she had detected in his voice when he had spoken.

_When did _he_ get here? _she thought suspiciously.

**Beats me,** replied her Inner. **Pay more attention to your surroundings.**

_Why don't _YOU_? r_eplied Sakura.

He held himself with poise and confidence, and had Sakura not been born a child to a King as well, she would have felt bested by him. As it was, she was taking a small hit to her pride; she did not have enough control over her human body to look _that_ regal right now. Of course, right now, she didn't _want_ to look like a Princess, but it was still a minor blow to her self-confidence nonetheless.

She did not answer. Itachi looked down at her.

"What do you think?"

She shook her head, half-grinning, forcing herself to turn a little red. It wasn't hard; Itachi looked a little bit like Sasuke. She touched her throat, tapped it twice, and looked up to see Itachi's reaction.

For a moment - and just a moment - sympathy reflected in his eyes, and then he grunted, his eyes hiding his emotions, and snapped his fingers. Almost immediately, the court fell silent.

"Good day," he said to the crowd of nobles. "In place of my Father, King Fugaku, I am to introduce this young woman to court."

One by one, the nobles approached, taking Sakura's hand eagerly. She played her part well, shaking their hands and grinning stupidly, a surprised look on her face. She _was_ surprised. Why had the King sent Itachi to bring her into the inner circle of nobles when he thought of her as a "commoner?"

_Perhaps he doesn't want Sasuke's reputation to be tarnished for spending time with a woman dressed like a gypsy,_ she thought to herself.

**More likely it's to make our fall that much more painful,** replied Inner Sakura.

_Oh, hush, you!_

**Just saying.**

_What do you even _MEAN _by that, huh?_

**Oh, nothing, except that-**

"Welcome to court," said Itachi, bringing Sakura back to the present. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, and then relinquished her. She smiled and curtsied low, knowing court protocol well enough herself, and then glanced at the door.

_And why is Sasuke not here?_ She wondered. She had an unnerving suspicion...

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Sakura twirled and looked around, and saw the painter standing behind her. She turned to face him and tilted her head by way of asking what he wanted. He smiled, a fake grin that was barely passable, and turned his painting.

In it was her standing beside Prince Itachi, being introduced to the noblemen and women of the court of Konoha. Sakura stared. Surely the light didn't fall on her _quite_ like that; surely her smile wasn't _that_ radiant; surely her green eyes didn't _glow_ like that...Surely her hair...

_"You look nice with the sun in your hair."_

_"Ooh, your hair almost looks pink in this lighting! Talk about strawberry blonde!"_

Surely her hair didn't look _that_ pink in the sunlight...

But the painter did not exaggerate anything else: there stood Itachi, regal stance and all, dark, long hair pulled back in a white ribbon, and there were the flocks of nobles, dressed in their frills and gaudy hats. He had even captured the yellow of the sunshine dripping through the gold-colored curtains, had even added the intricate embroidery on them...

She looked up at the painter. He was an expert at what he did. It was no wonder he was employed by the royals; he had produced such splendid work in less than a few hours.

Sakura tried to compel her amazement at his work through her eyes. The painter must have seen it, because he bowed low to her, and then retreated from the room, throwing a fake grin at the court and a genuine smile at her.

The door closed behind him and Sakura looked out the window.

The sun was beginning to set.

She heard the doors burst open behind her and turned again, instinctively knowing who it was.

Sasuke stood, huffing a little bit, his clothes slightly rumpled as if he had been in a hurry to go somewhere. His eyes raked across the crowd, narrowing when they alighted on her, and narrowing further upon noticing her proximity to Itachi.

She shivered.

His eyes flashed red.

He approached, practically stomping towards them.

"Itachi," he said, anger dripping off his tongue. Sakura took a step back, giving them space; but Sasuke took a step to the side at that point, placing himself between her and Itachi.

"Ah, little brother!" Itachi was unfazed by Sasuke's tone. "You just missed a lovely introduction to court!"

Sasuke tensed.

"You introduced her to _court_?" Sasuke talked almost in a whisper now, and with good reason, too. Sakura noticed the volume level in the room had reduced as the nobles tried to overhear the Prince's conversation. "She's not meant for it, Itachi!"

_Zing._

_That stung a little,_ Sakura thought.

**What, you thought he **_**wanted**_** us in court with him? a**sked Inner Sakura.

_I just thought-_

"It was on Father's command," said Itachi, raising his hands. "I would not have done it otherwise."

"You're a fool, Itachi." Sasuke's tone was like ice. "Our _Father_ says a great deal of things."

"Not all of us are at liberty to do as we please, little brother," replied Itachi. "It would do well for you to remember we have duties to attend to."

"If I remember correctly, _OLDER BROTHER_," spat Sasuke, voice raising, "I am the only one with a great duty to uphold. _YOU_ passed on it."

"Sasuke-" Itachi began.

"I'm leaving for the evening." Sasuke coldly cut his brother off. He turned, grabbed Sakura's wrist, and dragged her from the room. He walked quickly, and Sakura had to run to keep pace with him. In moments, they were at the front gate of the castle. A guard noticed the two of them and moved to block the path to the gate.

"Prince Sasuke, I'm afraid we can't let you leave."

Sasuke's eyes flashed a deeper red in the light of the setting sun.

"You _dare_ question me?" he asked.

The guard opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again, breaking into a sweat.

"No, your Highness, not at all! But the King has said-"

With a roar, Sasuke shoved the guard to the side, and pulled Sakura along with him as he continued his approach to the gates.

"I am Prince of Konoha," he cried to the other guards. "I am the future King! Do _NOT_ deny me what I wish! I seek passage to walk in the lands of my people! This girl is accompanying me because I have commanded it, and you will allow us to leave because I command it."

The silence that followed was almost tangible, it was so thick. Then, almost as if in a daze, the guards opened the gate.

Sasuke tugged Sakura along with him. As soon as the gate closed behind them, he broke into a run, and it was all Sakura could do to sprint alongside him.

_What's gotten _IN_ to him?_ she wondered. Their feet pounded on the dirt road. Sasuke slowed only to turn onto the beach. They ran for a time along the sand until the sand turned to rocks. Sasuke stopped then, and Sakura, still unused to straining her relatively new legs, crumpled to the ground, panting and gasping. Sasuke looked at her, and his eyes turned black again. They widened and he crouched beside her, supporting her shuddering form.

"Are you okay?" He cursed when she coughed in answer, and pulled her close, settling on the rocks with her. "Look, it's gonna be all right, I'm just really frustrated." Sakura felt his chest heave as he sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you run so far."

After a while, Sakura caught her breath. The sun was almost over the horizon, and Sakura became aware of the fact that Naruto would have only one more day to find her before his time was up and she gained more. Suddenly the thought of four more days was intensely daunting. So much had happened in the two she had already had here... Could she really hold out for so much longer? What if her relationship with Sasuke were to take a turn for the worse within the next few days? What if-

"Hey, are you feeling better now?"

Sakura looked up at Sasuke. He looked down at her in concern. She smiled and flicked his forehead with her finger.

"Oww!" he said, rubbing his forehead. _Okay, so I deserved that,_ he thought to himself.

Sakura pulled away from him and began taking her shoes off. Sasuke frowned, taking her wrist to stop her.

"You can't swim here," he said. "It's dark, and the rocks are dangerous."

_No more dangerous than your boats,_ she thought to herself. She removed his hand and stripped her socks off, then lifted her dress so it wouldn't get wet as she began to wade into the water. She turned and faced Sasuke then, smiling at him.

His eyes widened.

_She looks like-_

And then the last ray of the sun disappeared.

Sakura turned back to the water. It was cold and refreshing. She waded out further, gathering her skirts higher and higher.

She heard splashing behind her and smiled again. Hands grabbed her own.

"You may as well just let go; it's gonna get wet, anyways."

Sakura closed her eyes and let her dress fall into the waters around her. She leaned back into Sasuke's chest, feeling his heart beat quicken a little. She grinned as she felt her own pick up. Sasuke's hands went to her shoulders, and he rested his head on top of hers.

"Your hair looks nice in moonlight, too."

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up at him. He was looking down at her, observing her eyes.

Sakura let one of her hands stray to her currently-blonde tresses, brushing through a strand of it absently while she lost herself in Sasuke's black eyes.

_I think we'll be fine in four more days._

One of Sasuke's hands encircled hers, and she let her strand of hair fall back into place as he continued gazing into her eyes.

_More than fine._

In two days, she would have her voice.

In two days, she would be able to talk to Sasuke.

_I will avoid Naruto when he comes,_ she decided. Sasuke smiled down at her, and she returned it. _I will . Because I want to speak to you._

_Because I want to tell you how I feel._

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**AN: Sorry it's taken so long to update! School, life, you know. Review, please!**


	12. Arrival

**Icewater**

Chapter 12: Arrival

**Disclaimer: Refer to chapt. 5.**

**Enjoy!**

**Review please!**

**_EDIT: I BELIEVE I fixed the issues going on, but please tell me if you spot any others! Thanks!_**

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Sakura sat up to the sound of the fire crackling to life. She peered into it carefully, wiping the sleep from her eyes. There had been no flames when she had gone to sleep...

Sakura slid out of bed and padded silently to her window, pulling the curtains open a hair. The sun was not yet up; the sky was a dull blue, and the stars were beginning to fade away while the moon positioned itself to sprint away from the soon-to-rise sun.

Sakura whipped around to face the fire. It slowly began to burn to life, and the orange flames began to turn green and red. Chiyo's face appeared, looking ten times more tired than the last time they'd communicated in this manner.

"You can speak while I'm here, Sakura," said the old seawitch. Sakura nodded.

"What's the matter?" she asked the older woman. Sakura sat on the edge of her bed, letting her legs hang as she reclined on her arms, looking pointedly at the fire.

"It's late. I was sleeping."

Chiyo's eyes crinkled in amusement.

"Your sleep can wait, child," said Chiyo. "But I have not yet warned you of whom you must be wary."

Sakura immediately sat up straight, her hands now placed firmly in her lap.

_This is serious business,_ she realized, _not a midnight chitchat._She should have expected as much from Chiyo. The woman was dying, if she remembered correctly. But why? Sakura furrowed her brow. There were so many loose ends. Nothing seemed to add up or make sense.

"His name is Madara."

The name was like a trigger. Sakura felt the fire turn cold, and shivered as she leaned forward. The flames began to sputter, the red and green fighting against a yellow and grey that had suddenly appeared within it. The colors fought for dominance.

"Remember, Sakura," said Chiyo's wavering image, "If Naruto sees you before the end of the day, you will revert to being a mermaid. I've found a spell to return your voice to you should you succeed in avoiding him." The fire became a golden and grey mass, and then it spluttered, and Chiyo's face disappeared for a moment. Then it sprang forth again, the last attempt at keeping the fire alive. "Be careful, Sakura! The ocean and land are in danger! Remember your d-"

The fire died. Sakura sat on her bed, motionless, hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. Gradually, the room became as cool as it had been when Sakura had drifted off to sleep. The excess smoke from the fire dissipated into the surrounding air, and then there was no trace of what had transpired. Sakura took a deep breath and then exhaled.

_Easy,_ she thought, calming her rapidly beating heart. _I don't know what's going on, but I can figure it out. I'm sure of it._

_**If you would just **_**listen**_** to me,I could tell you-**_

_I have to do this myself,_ Sakura told her Inner. _I rely on others too much. Even you,_she thought softly. Sakura slid off her bed and let her bare feet touch the cold stone floor. She spread her legs out a bit, wiggling her toes, and simply stood there for a time in this sturdy stance, thinking of nothing and everything at once.

_My time with these feet is limited,_she thought. She had known that from the start, that there was only a certain amount of time she could have to be human. But in the deepest parts of her consciousness, she had still wanted to follow in her Mother's footsteps, wanted to know and experience the very things her Mother had at her age.

And she _had._She had seen the villagers of Konoha, had seen it's sights, heard it's sounds. She had traipsed through it's great protecting forests, had swam and splashed along it's banks and beaches. She had walked through the very halls of the very castle her Mother had inhabited for a limited amount of time, too. She had fallen in love with a successor of Konoha's throne, just as her Mother had long ago.

_Maybe we're destined to be tied to Konoha like this,_she thought.

_" Mother, do you think I have fire in me?"_

_Her Mother smiled down lovingly at her._

_" Without a shadow of a doubt," she told her child. "It burns that brightly inside you."_

_...Maybe that's why,_ Sakura figured. _Maybe it's because we know of Konoha, that we've seen it and know it's real... Maybe that's why we're drawn back to it. Because we know about it, we've caught a little bit of it's fire._

Sakura closed the curtains of her window and returned to her bed.

_Madara,_ she thought. The name itself seemed to instill fear inside her. _I must be careful of this man, whomever he is._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

For a number of days now, she had been haunted by a terrible dream. In it, she swam as if her life depended upon it, frantic, for so long that she forgot her reason for fleeing in the first place. She had but one goal: She had to reach him. No matter the cost.

Kushina Uzumaki awoke with a start, gasping, floating away from her bed.

_Again... _Why did she keep having this dream? She shook her head; her son and husband had not been in contact with her for a number of days. It only made sense that she should be worried for them.

Still...

Yawning, the Queen of Atlantica fell into her usual morning schedule. She fretted over her dazzlingly-red flipper that matched her hair, picked out some coral accessories to wear, and adjusted her orange shells (courtesy of her son, who had found the shells in some random part of the reef and decided to give them to his mother to use as she pleased) before heading out of her bed chambers.

She greeted the servants and maids with a contagious grin that they all returned.

"Good morning, Queen Kushina!" said one particularly bubbly server girl, bringing a tray of kale and the rare delicacy seacress. Upon pouncing on the plants, Kushina chose to nod her head in response as opposed to opening her food-filled mouth.

Kushina wandered through the castle, munching on food samples here and there, before settling down on her throne. It was of red coral painstakingly wound together with eelweed, Atlantica's representative plant. The Queen sighed, resting her head on her hands, and waited.

Soon enough, a flood of citizens began pouring in. Most were simply concerned about Kushina herself, having been left behind by her male family members to see to the kingdom's benefit on her own. They were all sincere and meant well, so Kushina put on a bright facade of overconfidence and spunky energy, waving away their concerns and putting them at ease. A number of the merfolk had shown up to discuss recent - _very_recent - skirmishes breaking out between Oceanicans and Atlanticans. Kushina insisted to these that the matter was being handled by her husband and King Jiraiya; inwardly, though, she worried. Jiraiya was a King who ruled his people kindly but firmly. Should skirmishes break out along borders, his people would immediately feel political pressure - and a sudden tightening of Oceanican funding - for it within hours. Jiraiya, she knew, had been the one to show her own husband, Minato, the ropes of government when Minato was still young. If there was anyone she would have expected to handle border tensions well and rapidly, it would be him.

And yet reports of disputes had not only continued over the past few days, but dramatically increased. What had started as one isolated incident had spread at an alarming rate to nearly every major border city.

Kushina could barely keep composed when the afternoon meal was announced. She practically flew from the throne room, away from the people bearing bad news, into the dining area. The court had already assembled, and Kushina couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickle at the hush that engulfed the room as she entered it. She feigned ignorance of it, throwing her chin up high and giving what she figured looked like a nonchalant appearance. She sat through her meal feeling the nearly suffocating pressure of the eyes of her court, and finally snapped just before a seaweeberry dessert dish was placed in front of her.

"What's the big idea?" she asked, eyeing the royals suspiciously. "Why are you whispering in secret? Are you plotting something? Has something happened here that I'm missing?"

She knew she was on the right track when a good half of the nobles shifted uncomfortably in their seats, throwing warning glances at each other.

_Well,_ Kushina figured, _this is a good time to use my influence._Straightening her back, Kushina allowed herself to float upwards so she could look down at her royal subjects.

"I am not a patient woman, as you all know," she said in as clear a voice as she could manage. "As your Queen, I demand for the matter to be brought to my attention."

A pause. No one moved.

"_Immediately._" she added.

An older man cleared his throat, and Kushina turned expectantly to him.

"It is troubling to us, your Highness," he began slowly, "that our friendly neighboring Kingdoms seem to be having... _Issues_regarding their political stability."

"I know Oceanica is having lots of trouble concerning their borderlying lands," began Kushina, "But that's hardly a-"

"It's not only Oceanica, my Lady," interrupted a young Duke. "There are rumors about Pacifica's ruler..." the youth took a breath. "King Gaara may have been assassinated."

Silence.

"And why," began Kushina, her tone like ice, "have I not heard of this?"

The Duke looked around at the other court members.

"You've been troubled about the safety of your son and husband," said a middle-aged mermaid. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say we did not wish to verify your worries."

Kushina felt as if she had suddenly swam into the Ice Ridges. "You think they may be in danger in Oceanica," she clarified.

A stiff silence, and then the woman nodded slowly.

In an instant, Kushina was swimming away from the table. She caught the eye of a guard and tipped her head; he approached her hurriedly.

"Tell Captain Iruka that the troops are to be readied immediately." The guard nodded, wide-eyed, and swam off. Kushina continued on her way, heading once again towards her and Minato's bed chambers.

The recent skirmishes... Gaara's assassination... The lack of contact she had with her family in Oceanica right now... It was all a bit too convenient, occurring too closely together, for her comfort. She opened the door and swam to the bed, throwing the covers off and roughly tossing the seaweed bedding to the side. She grabbed at a large pile of moss and yanked it away, revealing a chest. She snapped it open; the top creaked as she moved it, and then she reached in and pulled out a trident. It was nearly as tall as she was, made of a material made only in Arcticia, bewitched with power and an ability to repel rust. The methods to make such a magnificent tool had been lost long before the destruction of Arcticia, and the trident itself was an artifact passed down from Atlantican ruler to ascending ruler for centuries. It shone brilliantly in Kushina's hands, despite the fact that there was little sunlight streaming into her room at the moment. She held it tightly, closing her eyes to send out a prayer.

_Please,_ she begged, _let Minato and Naruto be safe!_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sasuke was up early. He couldn't seem to sleep last night, after his outing with the girl. He simply lay in bed until he couldn't bare it anymore; after that, he just got up. There was no reason for him to continue to try sleeping when it was evidently so futile, so he did not bother. Instead, he stood by his window, opening the curtains ever so slightly. The sun was beginning to creep over the eastern portion of the castle, and Sasuke's eyes wandered to the living quarters on the west side, directly opposite the eastern lookout post. His eyes settled onto a window on the second floor.

The curtains were pulled closed.

He glanced back to the lookout tower, eyes narrowing when he took notice of two guards positioned strategically: one facing westward, the other towards the south.

Towards him.

He pulled his curtain back.

_So he doesn't trust me, huh,_he mused. He changed into some court garb and opened his door, shooeing away the somewhat-concerned looks on the guards posted outside his room.

"I'm fine," he said by way of greeting, and proceeded to stomp down the stairs.

_I wonder if he has people watching Itachi, too,_ Sasuke brooded, none too bitterly. _Probably not... Itachi has no problem following his orders.  
><em>  
>The hallways were still relatively empty, but it only took a quick glance around to see that they were nonetheless very much in use. The walls were lined with sticks recently lit on fire; it was still dark outside, and so there was no light pouring in through the windows. Sasuke wandered until he was in a corridor without windows. After a quick glance around to make sure he was alone, the young Uchiha silently entered through a doorway, closing the door softly. Then he looked around again.<p>

The servants corridors, which ran alongside the main hallways but were hidden behind walls to separate the workers from the nobility, were deserted. Not many people needed others doting on them at four in the morning, after all.

Sasuke wasted no time. He walked purposefully, winding through the corridors towards his destination: the eastern lookout towers. He went up by way of the winding servant's corridors, which seemed to twist impossibly within the confines of such a small tower. Finally, Sasuke reached the end of the hallway, and roughly opened the plain wooden door at the end of it.

It slammed against stone, and the guards posted there started, leaping around, hands instinctively placed on their sword holsters. But Sasuke was already upon them, slicing a dagger (usually hidden within his belt or shoes) upwards. It easily sliced through the leather wrapped around their waists, and the attached swords and holsters clattered to the ground. Sasuke wasted no time in leaping forwards, dropping his dagger on the ground while he simultaneously grabbed the men and kicked their swords away. His force slammed the men onto the edge of the tower; they were pushed backwards, their upper body's arced over the edge, their heads dangling over air.

"I have some questions for you," said Sasuke simply. His eyes flashed red, and he immediately felt the men begin to tremble. He suppressed a triumphant smirk.

"Whose orders are you following?" he asked.

The men shot nervous glances at each other. Sasuke frowned and snarled, yanking the men up and slamming them back down. "Don't try lying!" he snapped. "You're in no position to make me angry!"

Sasuke felt something cool touch his throat.

"Prince Sasuke," said a low voice. "I do believe the same goes for you."

Slowly, Sasuke's hands released the men. They slumped forward and scrambled to grab their weapons.

"Now, now, men," said the voice behind Sasuke. It made his skin crawl to hear it. "There will be no running to your King to tell him of my little visit."

The pressure at Sasuke's throat disappeared. Sasuke wheeled around in time to see his dagger imbed itself in one man's back. He toppled with a yell; the other man had his sword drawn and began to back up slowly, eyes warily eyeing the new arrival.

"What do you want?" asked Sasuke, crossing his arms.

"Just something you've got hidden," replied the cloaked figure before him. Sasuke let his eyes betray no emotion as the hooded figure shot forward at lightning speed, taking the lookout's weapon and shoving it through his heart. But Sasuke looked away before the life left the man's eyes.

"I have no intention of joining you again," Sasuke said. "I've learned all I can from you."

"Oh, believe me, Sasuke," the man said, reaching for his hood. He yanked it back, revealing long, black hair and cracked, pale skin; his eyes were sunken in, yellow and bloodshot. "You still know very little about my secrets."

"Orochimaru." Sasuke extended his hand expectantly. Orochimaru opened his mouth and his tongue shot out, retrieving the dagger from one of the men's backs, and placed it in the Uchiha's palm. Sasuke wiped the blood from it, but did not return it to its hiding spot.

"I don't want to fight," said Orochimaru, stepping forward. "I just want to talk."

"Then you can speak with the King," said Sasuke, shouldering Orochimaru aside.

Suddenly a katana slammed into the closed (Orochimaru must have shut it when he came up, Sasuke realized) wooden door, and Sasuke yanked his outstretched hand back, turning and slipping into a fighting stance, dagger at the ready. As he shifted, his shoes splashed; it wasn't hard to figure out why. The men's bodies were pretty close to him.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke," said Orochimaru, snickering. "I only want to have something back."

"What?" asked the Uchiha, his glare darkening. "I already _told_you, I-"

"Don't rush to conclusions," interrupted Orochimaru. "I though I had taught you better than that. No," he continued, slowly stepping forward until he was directly in front of Sasuke. "While I would be _delighted_for you to return to me, I am here strictly for business."

Sasuke tensed.

"Then why don't you discuss it with the King?" he asked.

Orochimaru's grin disappeared.

"Our interests clash," he said curtly. "Besides, who better to deliver the prize to me than the one with the strongest hold of it?"

Sasuke hesitantly moved out of his battle stance.

"I want the mermaid with the pink hair."

Sasuke's eyes turned red.

"Mermaids are just sailor legends," he said. Orochimaru laughed.

"You have no clue, my dear boy. But your crew from your last sea voyage are not as inclined to keep her existence a secret as you are."

Sasuke turned to face the east. The sun was rising, and it blinded him to look at it.

"She is a human now. She used witchcraft and traded her fin for feet." Orochimaru ruffled Sasuke's hair; the boy knocked the older man's hand away. "If you see a girl with pink hair, take her into the ocean and drop her."

Sasuke kept perfectly still.

"Why?" he asked. Orochimaru chuckled.

"Blood dissipates quickly in the water." It was a simple statement, but it made Sasuke want to slap Orochimaru. "She needs to return to her people... She should join the rest of her family in the water, where she rightly belongs."

"If the mermaid were here, I would know." Sasuke said.

"Are you sure?" asked Orochimaru. "No... Recent refugees? Sudden shipwreck survivors?"

_" You're different... From everyone -" Sasuke caught himself. "... From any human on Earth that I've ever met."_

"No," Sasuke said again. "No one that stayed."

Orochimaru stared into Sasuke's eyes before sighing.

"Now, Sasuke," he said softly, "I really would rath-"

"I do hope you plan on cleaning this up."

Sasuke looked up, as did Orochimaru, who seemed to pale considerably despite his already pallid appearance.

"Itachi," said Orochimaru, voice strained. "I hadn't thought you would still be here, what with your underground business spreading abroad."

"I am in charge of Akatsuki's national affairs, not international," replied Itachi. He nodded at Sasuke. "Awake early, little brother?"

Sasuke glared back.

"_He _sent you, didn't he?"

Itachi said nothing, instead leaning down to check the pulse of the man nearest him. He sighed, then closed the man's eyelids.

"You certainly did a number on these poor men," he said, looking up. "And in vain, too. The King will replace them twofold. Never mind about taking care of this; I'll see to it."

Orochimaru glanced at Sasuke, licked his lips, and turned back to Itachi.

"I shall take my leave, then," he said. Again, Itachi gave no response, choosing to yank the sword out of the wood of the door. He pulled the door open and turned to face Orochimaru, handing the older man the weapon.

"Sasuke," said Orochimaru in a low voice, "The mermaid would be better off in the ocean than within these walls. What I would do is nothing compared to what your _Father_ would _not_do to her."

Sasuke stared, for once without a snide reply, as Orochimaru retreated, leaving the brothers alone. Itachi waited until the echo of Orochimaru's feet descending the staircase was ended by the slamming sound of a closing door before shutting the one to the watchtower. He whirled around in time to catch Sasuke looking out towards the west wing of the castle.

"Sasuke-" Itachi began.

"I haven't forgiven you yet," snapped Sasuke. The sun had somehow begun to creep up over the eastern part of the castle, and now streams of sunlight glittered across the sky, their gold color adding a fiery depth to Sasuke's eyes. "You're on _his_side."

"I am with Akatsuki, not our Father," replied Itachi.

Sasuke laughed.

"We're not in the court right now, older brother," he said. "No need for that pretense here."

"Sasuke," replied Itachi, "The situation is beyond delicate at this point. You know as well as I do that the King, our Father-"

"Is dead," interrupted Sasuke, "And to call that _man_ Konoha's ruler is to degrade our _real_father."

A thick silence fell upon the two siblings. Sasuke was unmoving but clearly seething, body tensed as if in preparation of an attack. Itachi stood still as well, intelligent eyes boring into the matching red eyes of his younger brother. Finally, the older of the two bowed.

"We each do as we see fit for the better of the kingdom," said Itachi. "I know what I'm doing, Sasuke. I will see you later."

After Itachi had closed the door behind him, Sasuke turned back to the west, eyes returning to black when they alighted on the window on the second floor.

"I don't care much about Konoha anymore," he said. "_I'm_the one tied down by duty, but I'll do what I please."

_" What I would do is nothing compared to what your FATHER WOULDN'T do to her."_

"He won't win this game," he muttered to himself. "Not this time."

_Sasuke's hands went to her shoulders, and he rested his head on top of hers._

_" Your hair looks nice in moonlight, too."_

There was too much at stake to lose again.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sakura noticed quickly that Ino's mind was far away from where they were now, sorting through dresses and shoes. Ino had pleaded with Sakura until the girl had begrudgingly nodded her assent to actually try on her wardrobe's worth of noble's clothing. They had started with the most formal wear, deciding which dresses flattered Sakura's body type and which did not. They theoretically should have moved on to the semi-casual dresses by now, but the task of wearing the dresses was very time-consuming. Sakura had to slip into and out of each article of clothing, and Ino had to make adjustments and mark where to lift hemlines and the like.

It also didn't help that the blonde girl was in something akin to a stupor, taking a long time to come to conclusions about dresses and continually dozing off or losing track of what she had intended to say.

After Sakura tapped the blonde girl, Ino responded with a flinch and looked up, a bit taken aback.

Sakura quirked her head to the side, concern spreading across her features. Ino took note of it and sighed, handing Sakura a green dress to try on. Sakura began slipping out of the purple one she had previously donned (and which Ino had nixed), and Ino began to explain herself.

"There's... This thing," she said cautiously. "I just... I have this bad feeling..."

Sakura nodded understandingly. All morning - or perhaps earlier than then, when the fire had blown itself out in the wee hours before dawn - Sakura had felt an unnerving sense of... _Something_. It was not dread; nor was it the sickening feeling of the deja vu she had experienced before her Father's death. But it was unsettling nonetheless.

Her Father. Sakura had been avoiding thinking about him. But now everything about him flew back to the forefront of her mind.

He always had the most brilliant of smiles. For as long as she could remember, her Mother had always lovingly enshrouded her in fantasies and tales and childhood, and her Father had been her pillar of comfort, the one whom she would run to if upset or hurt. He never failed to envelope her in his arms when possible, and he always told her she was his Pearl of the Sea.

_" My little pink pearl," _ he would so often say as they would sit on a large piece of the coral gates encircling the castle. _" My little Sakura flower."_

Sakura knew of flowers from her Mother, and there were in fact blooms underwater. But they paled in comparison to those Mother spoke of.

_" They blossom in the spring above-water, when the fish begin to proliferate," her Mother said. Sakura was in her arms, lying back contentedly against her Mother's chest._

_" They blossom when mermaids are born," said her Father, settling down beside them. He wove his tail around the end of her Mother's, and the Queen smiled softly, returning the gesture. " They say that every flower represents a mermaid. Its color is the same as that of her fin." The King poked Sakura on her belly; she recoiled, giggling. " So yours would be a green flower," he said._

_" It probably includes hair color, too, Jiraiya," said Tsunade, stroking her daughter's locks._

_The King nodded._

_" Ah, yes," he said. He turned to his daughter excitedly. " Sakura, you're a special mermaid," he said, " So instead of getting a flower on the surface, a whole tree grew for you. Isn't that cool?"_

_"Yeah!" yelled Sakura, her eyes bugging happily. " It must be really pretty!"_

_" It's flowers are as pink as your hair," her Father agreed. Tsunade nodded as well. Jiraiya reached over and scooped Sakura into his arms, flinging her this way and that as she squirmed and squealed. Finally, he settled her down in his lap._

_" I think I should probably be getting back," he said after some time._

_" Probably," agreed the Queen. Sakura was half-asleep in her Father's arms when he passed her back to her Mother. He ruffled her hair, and she closed her eyes._

_" Goodbye, my pink pearl," he said softly._

"Goodbye, Daddy," she whispered.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Ino asked in concern. Tears streamed down Sakura's face; she wiped them away with the back of her hand, but it was futile; more simply poured out to replace the ones she removed.

His death had been so sudden. With a pang of guilt, Sakura realized that their last real conversation had ended badly, with her storming away against his wishes to swim into the Outwaters. He had only meant to protect her from the danger he knew lurked beyond the safety of the castle.

_But he wasn't looking inside enough,_ she thought sadly. _He was so concerned about what lay in wait beyond our coral walls that he didn't notice what was within them.  
><em>  
><em><strong>And neither did we.<strong>_

_I know, _Sakura told her other self. _But we should have_ known! _We should've... Should've been a better daughter!_

_**If we hadn't left,**_ Inner said,_ **we might have been killed before Father!**_

_But he_ died! she screamed to herself. _He's _dead, _and I didn't_ - HAVEN'T- _done anything about it! He would be so afraid for me, up here, alone! How is that fair? It should have... Should have been _me! With the breath of a moan, Sakura sank to the floor, sobbing silently into her hands. She faintly felt Ino's hand softly rubbing circles on her back.

_I should have gone to Suna to get reinforcements,_ she thought. _I should have done something to protect the kingdom Daddy treasured so much! Maybe, if we had gotten there quickly enough... Maybe we could've saved Father..._

_**He was dead before we left,** _said Inner._ **Don't deny that.**_

Sakura took a deep breath.

_I'm a fool, for running away like I have. Look at the mess we're in now! Nothing makes any sense!_

_**Well, yeah,**_ agreed her other half hesitantly. **_But this is all part.._.**Her other half cut off, as if it had said too much.

_**It's okay,**_ said Inner Sakura slowly._ **He's gone, but he's still here.**_

"Are you gonna be okay?" Ino's ringing voice brought Sakura back from her internal thoughts.

_" Swim," he whispered back to her._

Sakura nodded, once again wiping her tears away.

_Then for Daddy,_ she decided, _let's make him proud, even in a human's court!_

_**Yes,**_ replied Inner._ **If we're meant to play this part, then let's make it one heck of a show!**_

Sakura laughed inwardly.

_I never know what nonsense you babble on about,_she admitted to herself.

_**You do,**_ remarked her Inner_, **you're just too stubborn to realize it.**_

Ino clicked her tongue playfully.

"Well, this dress is ruined now," she told Sakura, pointing at a dripping, green sleeve which was bleeding into the cream skirt. "It's ugly anyways," she continued. "Let's just toss it!"

Sakura changed out of the dress, sniffling every now and again, and then slid into a leaf-colored dress Ino had approved earlier.

The blonde looked over Sakura, nodding to herself.

"Let's get a nice necklace for that," she said. "Wear the brown slippers, and I'll see if I can get ahold of some hair pins and such. Wait here for me!"

Ino left the room; Sakura heard the clicking of her shoes against the stone of the castle floor before the wooden door closed. For a few moments, she sat alone in silence. But then she stood. Sakura went over to the window. The curtains were pulled back slightly, to provide light but prevent indecency, and Sakura flung them open fully. The sunlight heated her skin almost immediately, and she allowed her eyes to close for a moment to enjoy the bliss. Then, she began to scan the surroundings below her.

Being on the second floor, escaping from the window would be difficult if she ever needed to. It was a long fall down, and her window easily visible from the lookout tower.

Sakura's eyes narrowed.

Someone was up there now. Looking in her direction, if her eyes did not deceive her.

She looked down.

There were thick, large clumps of ivy climbing the walls, spreading out around her window and continuing upwards.

Satisfied she had seen what she needed to, Sakura pulled the curtains back to their previous near-closed state.

_They're watching me, _she realized. Then, thoughtfully, she began wondering why.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The tension in court was very nearly tangible. Itachi met Sasuke's glare with an unreadable expression; the noblemen stood in little tight circles, speaking in hushed voices amongst themselves; the ladies ruffled their skirts and wagged their fans exaggeratedly, their voices unusually loud and high-pitched; Sakura stood nervously a few feet behind the younger of the Uchiha brothers, eyes snapping back and forth in order to analyze the situation; and Sai sat on a windowsill, capturing the scene in splotches of gold and black, red and blue, white and yellow, green and pink.

The King was going to come to court today.

It had been announced only moments before that the King of Konoha would be making his appearance shortly, and since that announcement all of the royalty had fallen into a nervous frenzy.

_It was as if these people weren't eager to see their sovereign,_Sakura thought. Her Inner agreed.

_**I wonder... **_Inner Sakura began.

"I hate him."

The words hung in the air, stuck in the tangled web of apprehension felt by the gathered people. Sasuke did not acknowledge the shocked faces of the court surrounding him; his icy gaze was firmly settled upon his older brother. "And I hate _you_," he added.

"Words should be well thought-out before spoken, Sasuke," replied Itachi, eyes confirming no emotions as they locked onto Sasuke's. "If-"

"I'm tired of this power struggle," interrupted Sasuke. "You know as well as I do what's at stake."

Sakura shivered involuntarily when both brother's glanced at her.

_**Alarm shells going off in your head yet? **_asked Inner Sakura. _**This place is anything but safe!**_

_I'm well aware of that,_ replied Sakura. _But it's a lost cause, trying to leave now._ She gestured around herself mentally. _If we try to escape, we'll be suspicious. They may even chase us. And _then_where would we be? Naruto's nowhere near us right now; even if I wanted to go home now, it would only bring more danger to him... And Oceanica._

Her Inner sighed frustratedly, unable to rebuff Sakura's claims.

_**Let's stay on guard, **_she finally advised. Sakura mentally nodded.

_Already am,_she said.

Sakura let her eyes wander around again. The nobles were listening intently to the conversation between the brothers. Even Sai had stopped painting in order to eavesdrop, though he was more subtle than the nobles.

"Sasuke," Itachi began, "Sh-"

"I wonder what would happen," Sasuke cut in, "If I gave up any claim to the thr-"

The doors slammed, men holding them open. The court members immediately retreated to the walls; Sakura followed suit. Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at her, nodded upon seeing her lining the walls, and then turned forward again, bowing stiffly. Beside him, Itachi bowed deeply, acing his hand to his heart. The people of the court lowered themselves to their knees, the women spreading their skirts and sitting on both legs; Sakura followed suit, letting her light green dress flow about her, and ducked her head.

"The King," announced someone; Sakura could not see who said it. "His Majesty, Fugaku Uchiha."

Sakura heard the tapping of shoes entering the room; as desperately as she wanted to, she knew better than to look up. To do so would be a breach of courtesy as well as court protocol. But she listened intently while the feet continued towards the throne, and she heard the rustle of heavy fabric as someone sat in it. Then there were three raps, and Sakura rose with the rest of the court, her head still bowed, unsure of when she should look up. Her eyes darted to the woman beside her. She was staring straight ahead, and Sakura hastily copied her.

There, sitting in the golden throne, donning vibrant clothing of gold and purple with tasteful embroidery, wearing a ring with a dazzlingly bright red jewel upon it, was a man with dark hair and red eyes.

Red eyes focused directly on her.

She mentally corrected herself.

_No, not me, _she said. _The person in front of me._

About halfway across the room, nearly in the way of her vision of the King, Sasuke stood, looking for all the world as if he would gladly enjoy flinging something expensive at his father.

_I gather that he and his father are on strained terms,_she thought.

**_It wouldn't be the first time in history,_ **replied her Inner. Sakura agreed silently, recalling her own rocky relationship with her Father near the end of his life.

"It is an honor to join you today, my friends and loyal subjects." The man in the throne spoke in a deep voice with a slightly raspy and most definitely dark timbre. "There are matters of utmost importance that must be discussed and addressed." He rapped his hand twice on the throne, and it echoed about the room. The people darted nervous looks at one another before an old man stepped forward. He had black hair, an eyeglass, and a hat with fabric hanging loosely around that produced a shimmering effect; his eyes were barely visible, and they were so scrunched up it was impossible to see what eye color he had. His cane was a bright, flamboyant scarlet, and it struck Sakura immediately that the way it glinted in the sunlight made it appear almost like Sasuke's red eyes.

"You mean the matter of the Hyuuga, your majesty," he said loudly and clearly. His voice was aged and experienced, but Sakura couldn't help but feel nervous and distrustful of this man.

"Perceptive as always, Danzo," replied King Fugaku. His eyes raked over the crowd again, landing for a moment on her green eyes before passing on.

And during that moment, Sakura knew.

Those were not the eyes of Sasuke's father.

They were cold, all-seeing and unfeeling.

They were the eyes of a schemer, a killer.

An _usurper_.

_Dear God, _she thought, barely able to keep herself from taking a step back in fear and sudden realization. _This man... Is..._

_"__But I have not yet warned you of whom you must be wary."_

_"I hate him."_

_" It was on Father's command," said Itachi, raising his hands. "I would not have done it otherwise."_

_" I only know that he has already taken the land; he will not wait long before he guns for the sea."_

_" Our _Father_says a great deal of things."_

_" Not all of us are at liberty to do as we please, little brother."_

_" His name is-"_

"Madara," Sakura breathed.

Her eyes went wide as his gaze swung back towards her, his red eyes narrowing. She couldn't force herself to look away. She was paralyzed, frozen by a fear she couldn't check, a fear coursing through her veins, a fear that numbed her body.

And then Sasuke stepped forward, blocking her from Madara's red eyes.

"Father," he began, "What of the Hyuuga?" Sakura saw his shoulders rise, almost as if he were shrugging. "We have resolved the matter. You yourself signed the treaty."

"Prince Sasuke," Madara said, "It is as you say." Sakura could imagine him straightening even more in his chair, looking around the room once more.

"However, the most integral aspect of the treaty requires that-"

And suddenly someone stumbled in, followed by guards who had unsuccessfully tried to hold the man back. He panted a great deal, his face unnaturally pale and muscles visibly straining; his face was contorted in pain.

"Your... Your majesty," he managed to gasp, "The Hyuuga have... been attacked... a-along the border."

Sasuke and Itachi immediately stiffened, and the sudden rustling of fabric alerted Sakura to the fact that Madara must have just stood up.

"Sasuke," he said, "Ready the troops. Itachi," he barked at the older of the two brothers, "Take a squad out immediately and-"

"The attacker is dead," gasped the man who had run to the castle. He looked up and Sakura was startled to see eyes as white as pearls. "The one who killed him... He was a demon."

Sakura felt her body chill.

"He's on the rampage."

Sakura didn't think.

Before she heard anyone shout at her, she had shoved past the man and the guards, and was barreling down the hallway. She heard people call her, but none called her by name – none aside from Madara _knew_her name – so she did not listen.

She had to get outside. Everything she'd worked for, everything she'd sworn to do, went flying out of her mind. She remembered her Father's lifeless face and knew she had to act quickly. She had to prevent another death.

In moments, she was dashing outside past startled guards by open gates. She did not stop to marvel at how quickly feet could move a person when adrenaline coursed through their veins; she could only think of that man's words.

_Naruto!_

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The world was red, as if someone had put a jellyfish in front of his face, making his vision blurry and his surroundings opaque and vague.

He fleetingly realized the Kyuubi was taking over, but he could not muster the strength to force it back. He didn't _want_to. He had seen Hinata struck down before him, and something within him had snapped. She had been completely innocent and unaware. It wasn't fair.

So he had defended her the only way he knew how: by giving in.

He had defeated Pein. The man had reverted to his fish state after Naruto had run him through with a Rasengan, flopping futilely on the ground before growing still.

Naruto had thought it would be over.

But when he turned around, the Hyuuga were horrified. He supposed it _was_ a shock, seeing his body partially morphed into that of a terrifying sea monsters, but Naruto had assumed they would have at least _thanked_him for saving their lives and defeating the enemy.

Instead, they had charged him, intent on killing him.

And so Naruto ran. He did so on all fours, like an animal, alerting him initially of the fact that Kyuubi was beginning to take his body. The Kyuubi's amazing power and speed was all that kept him ahead of the mob, which had increased in numbers as they had approached Sasuke's castle. Naruto grimaced at the irony; he had set out to peacefully meet with the prince, but now he couldn't even do that.

In the setting light of the sun, the castle's silhouette seemed to cast dark shadows all around it. Naruto spotted the glitter of the ocean faintly in the distance, and sped up with renewed vigor. Never mind that he hadn't found Sakura; he needed to get away from the mob before it would be safe to retrieve her. In the back of his mind, he realized he didn't have another day, that today was his last, that returning to the ocean without Sakura might mean never seeing her again. But these thoughts were far from his mind as more of the Kyuubi took over to continue his flight.

Unfortunately, Naruto had no idea how to navigate Konoha. He ran through the forest and frequently got turned around, and the mob would get closer to him; whenever he wandered into the city at all, the mob chasing him simply grew. The sun was almost hidden over the horizon when he finally found himself on the beach. He splashed in, wading out as far as he could while keeping his head above-water, and turned around.

The mob was gathering on the shore, warily eyeing him.

The last ray of the sun set.

Naruto heard his name screamed out and his eyes met Sakura's green ones. He saw the fear in her eyes, as well as the shock.

_She's worried about me,_ he realized. All at once, the Kyuubi was pushed back from his mind as Naruto's mind cleared. _Did I make it in time?_he wondered.

And then Naruto was sucked under by a swirling whirlpool that gently replaced the scales of his fin.

Naruto realized two things as he swam reluctantly further out: First, and the most obvious, that he had failed.

And second, that Chiyo must be dead, and Gaara must be alive.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed! Exams are looming for all of us, eh? Good luck on yours! I'll be back to updating more frequently once my big tests are out of the way with.**

**Thanks for reading, everyone! I love your feedback, it helps motivate and inspire me! Review please!**


	13. Mend

**Icewater**

Chapter 13: Mend 

**Disclaimer: Refer to chapt. 5.**

**Enjoy!**

**Review!**

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_I can talk now._ It dawned on her as immediately as the waves began splashing along the shore once more. They had been stirred up by Naruto's transformation, but now calmly repeated the push and pull pattern they had learned long ago.

Sakura let her fingers lightly touch her throat. The people around her were still stunned; her cry had been forgotten after Naruto reverted to merfolk form. She wanted to stay, wanted to know what would happen now; but she knew time was of the essence. Reason returned to her, and with it, the memory of her actions.

If she did not act quickly, there would be consequences.

She turned on her heel and shoved back through the crowd, and then ran yet again on pure adrenaline. Her muscles were beginning to feel the immense strain she had put on them when rushing down to find her friend. But she pressed forward nonetheless, oddly cognizant, aware of the few minutes she had left before the soldiers - before _Madara_ - arrived on the scene. She had to escape before they did, had to hide.

But _where?_ There was no way she would be able to sneak into the castle again; the guards would be intently watching for any sign of the demon the Hyuuga had been chasing. The alarm would be raised if they spotted her. And then she would still have to face Madara afterwards, possibly without Sasuke by her side.

She shivered at the thought.

_Perhaps the town?_ For a moment, she considered it; but then she realized guards would have been sent to protect the civilians as well. Again, it would be impossible to get past them without being noticed.

Her feet began to slow, and Sakura, panting and breathless, realized where they had led her.

The forest.

It was oddly calm, eerily silent (whether because they sensed how close Naruto and his demon had been or because the creatures inhabiting the forest were fast asleep, she knew not) as Sakura tentatively began to creep quietly across the leaves and twigs splayed about the forest floor. Slowly, Sakura's adrenaline rush faded, and she became aware of how sore she was, how exhausted she was. Her legs trembled with each step she took, and every now and again she couldn't help but wince; her feet ached and throbbed, and she was almost sure that they could bleed at any moment. But she continued at a constant rate, walking purposefully, trying her best nit to step on the dead pieces of wood littered here and there, careful not to put too much weight onto the leaves that crackled whenever she moved her toes.

The trees cast the forest floor intoo near-darkness, lighted only by the moonlight dappling down through the leaves above, creating spots of brightness in An abyss of blue and gray. It was difficult to see. Sakura heard something in the distance and paused.

Then she hurried forward.

The waterfall came into sight. It was hard to believe she had been here just a few days ago... Or had a day even passed since Sasuke had shown it to her? Things were happening too quickly, and Sakura couldn't seem to keep up. Yet the waterfall splashed and turtles just as tranquilly as it had when she had last visited, and it reminded her of the serenity she used to feel when her Mother would tell her stories of beaches and ships and a love from long ago.

Sakura collapsed by the banks, desperate to catch her breath. She cupped her hands in the water and brought it to her face. The water was cool and clear, and helped her think. Parched, she drank some, and then slipped her feet into the flowing water. She sighed; it felt wonderful.

Sakura looked over to the waterfall. For some reason, even though no birds were chirping like they had when she had come here before, and no wind was blowing and rustling leaves, the rush of the water seemed far-off. It should have been amplified by the silence of the forest surrounding it, but instead the sounds of the waterfall seemed muffled too, as if trying to become as unassuming as possible.

Just like her.

Sakura relaxed as time passed, eventually splaying herself across the grass by the banks of the waterfall. She stared up at the stars.

_Chiyo is dead now,_ she thought.

_**It's not our fault,**_ consoled her inner self. _**It wasn't our deal that brought it about.**_

_But it's this war,_ replied Sakura. _This war I'm too childish to face._

_**Its not childish to fear death,**_ said her Inner. _**It's not childish to retreat and regroup.**_

_But I'm not doing either!_ Sakura closed her eyes tightly.

"I'm just playing make-believe so I don't see the real world..." she whispered, opening her eyes slightly to squint at the stars.

Her inner was quiet for a time.

_**Funny, isn't it?**_ It finally said. _**The way the stars blur when you look at them through slits. It makes them seem all foggy and unclear. But,**_ it continued, _**at the same time, it makes them seem so close, as if you could maybe grab one from the sky.**_

Sakura chuckled.

_Are you saying I can have a star of my own?_ she asked herself.

_**I'm saying you can do impossible things when you forget about what can realistically be done,**_ replied Inner Sakura._** You think you can't face Orochimaru. But you can. You think you can't face Madara. But you can. You seem to think a lot of things, Sakura, that simply **_**are not true**_**. **_Her Inner pointed a finger at her. _**The only way to prove this is to do it. Face Orochimaru. Face Madara. And face your destiny. You **_**can't**_** avoid it.**_

Sakura did not reply straight away, instead choosing to continue squinting at the night sky for a time.

"But no matter how you see the stars, you can't hold them," she finally said. 

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It was nearly midnight when Sasuke finally found the girl by the waterfall, and by that point he was beyond exhausted. He had originally chased after her, but his "Father" caught up with him about halfway to the beau and re-directed him to escort the Hyuugas who had stayed behind. He had hurriedly set out and met them halfway; the eldest Hyuuga Princess had been wounded, and Sasuke and a few of the guardsmen rushed her to the nearest healer. Her wound was bad, at best. Sasuke knew this would not go over well, particularly because the treaty relied heavily on Princess Hinata's role in it...

He stopped his train of thought. He had set out again to find the girl, and had thought of this place; and there she was, her hair almost shimmering under the moonlight as she lay on the grass by the falls.

Silently, he walked towards her. Even so, her eyes, which had previously been trained on the sky above her, snapped to him, green eyes reflecting the stars and seeming to shine in the dim lighting. She did not seemed surprised, and Sasuke realized she must have known he would come here for her.

Wordlessly, he sat beside her, and she sat up, and they both warned the water rushing down the side of the cliff. For what felt like hours, Sasuke said and did nothing, content to enjoy this rare moment of utter calm.

It was her who broke it. She shifted, sitting up, and tilted her head at him.

He sighed. "The treaty with the Hyuuga may sour," he explained. "I had to see that the Princess arrived at the house of our best healer." He shook his head. "It may not be enough."

The girls eyes widened, and she stood. Sasuke looked up at her and saw that she wore a determined expression. She gestured towards the forest impatiently.

At first he did not understand. But the look in her eyes made it dawn on him. Nodding, he headed back towards Konoha.

"It's not far." 

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Sakura bit her lip. Her hands felt a little charred, but she ignored it, instead pouring her healer's powers into the tips of her fingers yet again. Memories, little ones at first, simple ones, began to worm their ways to the forefront of her mind as she labored over saving the Hyuuga Princess.

"_Sakura, look at this."_

_She peered over her Mother's outstretched arm and gasped. A fish was resting atop a rock, and blood was seeping out of a gash on its side. It sputtered a little, eyes glassy, bubbles coming from its mouth in between spasms. _

_Sakura began to tremble until her Mother put an arm comfortingly on her shoulder._

"_This is what it is to escape the line of a hunter," the Queen said softly. She lowered herself to bend on her fin, and reached out to the fish. She looked back to her daughter, who followed suit. "Fishermen snare sea creatures on hooks and in nets and bring them to shore for food," she continued. "Just as they claim our kind to eat, the ocean sometimes claims their kind for the fish to eat. Come, Sakura," she said, taking her daughters hands and stretching them forward. "Our ancestors were blessed with a power to counter the wounds inflicted by humans on us," she said. "It is time you learned to use it."_

_A soft glow began to form around her Mother's hands. Sakura gasped, then looked down at her hands, which remained the same color. She looked at the fish, who was engulfed by the fast-growing aura of green. It seemed to sigh, and she watched in amazement as the wound shrank, the damaged scales seeming to knit themselves back together. Her Mother removed her hands when no more than a chink on one scale remained._

"_Now, Sakura," she said, picking the child up and placing her in her lap. "Finish the healing."_

_Sakura looked down at the fish, who swam closer, eager to let the Queen teach the young mermaid to heal. _

"_First, take a deep breath to calm yourself," said her Mother. Sakura obeyed, inhaling slowly, and then exhaling slowly. "Good," cooed her Mother. "Now, remember the feeling of happiness. Let it grow and flow throughout your body."_

_At first, nothing happened. Sakura scrunched her face up in determination, and then relaxed her features._

Happiness,_ she thought. _I am happy.

_Her Mother's smile and her father's warm arms became her only thoughts, and she delighted in the simplicity of the feeling of joy and warmth their precences brought. _

_Her Mother's words were far-off. _

"_Good," her Mother said, her voice distant and almost difficult to hear. "Now, let it flow to your fingers."_

_Sakura channeled her happiness to her hands, and suddenly they were warm, so warm, and she thought the water around them must be boiling, except that it was not; it was glowing a great, vibrant green, greener than cory fish, than seaweed, than moss. It was almost blinding, except that she couldn't take her eyes off it. The fish beneath the green glow wriggled happily, finding an equal fascination and bliss within the light as Sakura._

_And suddenly her Mother's hands were touching the light, reaching through it, grasping her hands._

"_Stop," she commanded._

_And the happiness faded away. Sakura suddenly felt very tired. She floated backwards into her Mother's chest, resting against her. The Queen looked down at her, a smile on her lips._

"_Thank you," she said to the fish. It flipped happily and then swam away. Her Mother looked down at her again. "With time, you will become more powerful, able to heal more," she said. "But for now, that is all you can heal. See how tired you are?"_

_Sakura nodded wearily. _

"_Never forget your limits," her Mother said. "It is deadly to do so."_

Sakura probd gently with the green aura, judging how much internal damage she had healed in the past half-hour. She bit her tongue.

_Not enough. _

Sakura re-focused her energy on the Hyuuga's wound again, ignoring the occasional tremble of her hands.

"_Are you well?"_

_The young merman turned around, his blonde hair flowing about his head in odd spikes, an uncombed mass of untameable tresses. His eyes were narrowed, and flashed between blue and red; his cheeks had scars on them, three thick gashes on each side, which seemed to thin a bit... Perhaps it was the water playing tricks on her eyes. After all, merfolk did not have red eyes, nor did scars fluctuate visibly in size that quickly._

"_I'm fine," he said, laughing her concern off. Despite his words, Sakura could tell he was lying. He was breathing heavily, and his bright-orange held an unhealthy pale tinge."Just a little sick," he amended, adding an unconvincing cough at the end of his statement._

"_Let me help," she said, floating towards him. He backtracked hurriedly._

"_Don't come near me!" he yelled, eyes widening. They flashed red again, and she stopped. "I-I'm not safe!"_

_Sakura felt her heart go out to the boy. _

"_Then let me help," she repeated softly, approaching him slowly. He did nto reply, fearfully eyeing her as she inched closer and closer. His flipper raised automatically to provide a wall between them, but she carefully wrapped hers around his and lowered his fin. "I won't hurt you," she said. _

_She reached out, touched his chest, felt his rapid heartbeat. Then, she closed her eyes, and poured her love into her fingertips._

_His sharp intake of breath made her eyes snap open, meeting his. His eyes faded from red to blue, and she saw his scars thin yet again, and knew this time that the water was not playing tricks on her eyes. _

_Slowly, she let her green aura widen, envelop him more and more, until his entire body was surrounded by the green glow. He seemed to relax, and she untangled her fin from his as she noticed his fin had turned to a healthful, bright orange. Then, she closed her eyes._

Stop, _she thought to herself._

_The aura faded away, fizzled into the surrounding waters. Sakura sighed, letting herself float backwards a bit. She was exhausted; whatever had ailed the boy was not easy to heal, and she instinctively knew that she would never be able to fully heal it. Still, she knew she must have provided some relief to him, because he was smiling stupidly at her now, his fin flapping back and forth energetially._

"_That's so cool!" he yelled, swimming closer to her. His eyes held a gleam of excitement which took her aback. "How'd you do it?" Without letting her answer, he stretched out his hand. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And you are?"_

_She grinned back at him._

"_Sakura," she said. "My name is Sakura."_

Her aura spluttured a bit, and she frowned. She flexed her fingers lightly, and then again probed the wound. It was healed enough, she decided. It was the best she could do for now; she had healed the more lethal damage done, and had mostly healed the wound; there would be no scarring. She finished up, sewing a bit more skin together with her green aura before letting it sizzle out of existence in the surrounding air. She let herself slouch backwards a bit, tired from the healing.

_Air is much more difficult to heal in than water, _she thought, looking at the blisters beginning to appear on her hands. _The water was able to make the heat dissipate, but the air is less absorbent of it, I suppose... _She stood and opened the curtain, to where the other healers and immediate relatives of the girl waited. She nodded, smiling to them, and the tense air dissolved. Some sighed in relief; others simply smiled back at her. The other healers rushed in to double-check her work; they had left once they saw her aura, leading the hyuuga family out as well, rushing to give her privacy. But before they had done that, Sakura had watched them attempt to heal the girl. One or two were able to summon healing auras like hers, but theirs were thin, weak versions in comparison.

Her eyes met Sasuke's, who sat in a chair across the room. His eyes seemed to burn into her own, and Sakura looked away immediately, unable and unwilling to meet them for long.

_I can talk now, _she thought again._ I could tell him how I feel. _She looked back at him. His eyes were still trained on her. She glanced away, her cheeks flushing.

_I could tell him my name._

He stood, and she looked down at the ground. She heard him approach her, but she kept her eyes on the floor, even as the edges of his shoes – boots, actually, as she had heard Ino call them when they had sorted through her wardrobe – came into view.

"Good job."

His voice was what finally made her look into his eyes. No, _compelled_ her to do so. Her green eyes met his, and she did not look away.

She let her lips form the words.

"Th-"

A door slammed open, drowning out the sounds of er thanks. Everyone turned to the source.

Sakura tensed.

Madara walked in, slamming the door behind him.

"Has the condition of the princess improved?" he asked, turning to the girl's Father, King Hiashi. The man nodded.

"Indeed," he replied. "We are blessed to have had your most talented healers at our disposal."

King Madara quirked an eyebrow.

"Is it not the duty of a King to provide aid to any neighboring kingdoms?" he said. His eyes flitted quickly to Sakura's before returnign to Hiashi's. "In any case, we will always do as much as we possibly can to protect you and your people."

Sakura did not miss the message.

_He... wants to help Oceanica?_ She asked, a bit dumbstruck. _But a few days ago, he said... He said..._

_**Do not fall for his words, Sakura, **_her Inner warned. _**They are simply that: words. He does not mean them. Remember, Chiyo warned us not to trust him!**_

Sakura mentally nodded.

_I don't trust him,_ she assured her other self. _But why would he say this to me now?_

"Indeed, those are wise words," said King Hiashi. "With the union soon to come, of course, they are unnecessary."

"Quite," said Sasuke bitterly. The Kings both glanced to the boy. He straightened himself, standing with his legs slightly apart. Once again, Sakura noticed he partially hid her behind his body. "Although I find it difficult to trust a forced bond."

Madara's eyes narrowed sharply, and Hiashi's closed in what appeared to be exasperation.

"Silence," ordered the King of Konoha. "King Hiashi," he continued, turning back to the other King, "Please accept my apologies for the outburst of my son."

Hiashi glanced at Sasuke, and then nodded.

"He has his mother's spirit," he said, "I cannot condone him for that."

For just a moment, Sakura felt as if a black aura might suffocate her, but then it disappeared, and Madara was smiling.

"He does, doesn't he?" he said, chuckling softly. He glanced at her and then again at Sasuke. "Mothers do so often influence their children's behaviors."

Sakura felt something snap inside her.

She let her right index finger glow green, thinking of happiness and warmth.

And then she let it sour, letting the sorrow and pain of losing her parents possess her.

Green faded to light red, and her finger felt as if it were on fire. She pressed her lips together tightly and flicked her finger towards Madara.

The glow was too thin after she had shot it to be seen; she had moved inconspicuously. She doubted anyone, Madara included, could have seen her movements. But she knew where the glow of red had gone.

The effect was instantaneous.

The stone beneath King Madara's foot exploded. 

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_Where am I?_

All around her, there was nothing. Pure emptiness. There was no sky, no ground, no sounds; there were no walls, no boundaries. She alone existed here, if her presence here was an existence at all.

Hinata was bewildered beyond imagination.

She took a tentative step forward, wondering if she might fall forever if her foot met nothing, or if it would disappear altogether.

Her foot continued downwards until she closed her eyes.

_Please stop! _She pleaded into the nothingness.

Her foot met resistence. She looked down and saw her foot floating in oblivion, atop air. She took another step forward; the same thing happened, and she realized she was walking down some invisible sort of staircase. Tentatively, she made her way downwards, one foot in front of the other. She reached out with her hands and found that while her right hand met emptiness, her left found a smooth surface. She gripped it tightly, even though it, too, was not visible to her eyes, and continued down, always down, endlessely down.

Hinata tried to remember how she had come to this place, but everything was blurry in her mind. She recognized the infuriated face of her cousin, Neji, and a tearful Hanabi, but their forms were vague, as if seen through a veil. She could only really think about the nothingness she faced now, even though she couldn't even begin to comprehend it. Questions floated about her head, but every time she tried to answer one, it slipped from her memory, receding into the fog of whiteness surrounding her, and she forgot what she had wanted to answer to begin with. Her memories were a jumbled mess, and she simply couldn't compel herself to sort through them.

No, the current oblivion she was in was much more interesting. The whiteness was becoming less like a fog... more brilliant, more golden. It was something astounding, and she looked on in wonder, her steps becoming faster as she continued descending this endless spiral staircase-

No, now she saw, it literally WAS a spiral staircase. There, beneath her, were the misty shapes of steps, and her fingers trailed lightly across a smooth railing. But the material she touched was unfamiliar to her. It was not like wood, but was nothing like the cold metal weapons were made of. It was solid, yes, but it was warm to the touch, as if it had been out in the sunlight for a time.

She frowned, pausing in her descent.

Something was wrong.

She looked around her. The whiteness was no longer gaining brilliancy; she realized it was because she was no longer moving.

She had a sudden urge, a burning desire, to continue downwards, to see what the room she was entering looked like. Surely she was on a staircase leading to a ball room, or something like it...

The murky waters of her mind cleared, leaving her with only the memory of one golden boy whose smile was as bright as the sun.

She turned on her heels and scrambled back up the staircase, clutching blindly at the railing as she stumbled upwards.

_Who is he?_ She thought desperately. _I need to know! Who is he?_

The staircase became transparent, and then nearly invisible, and then she was in the nothingness again.

She did not stop, still holding tightly to the railing. She continued until the nothingness began to fade into darkness, and still she did not stop until she could see absolutely nothing. This was a different sort of nothingness, an incomplete emptiness, and it left her breathless and feeling as if she had just released her grasp on something glorious. But she still ran upwards.

Up. Up, Up, up, up, up _up up._

It never ended! Hinata felt herself falling into despair; she was trapped here, between this awful nothing and the wonderful nothing, unable to reach either, and without any bridge to the boy.

And then all at once, she was herself again. 

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 

**AN: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN FOREVER! T^T I've been so lazy, and so busy at the same time! I promise, I'm already beginning plans for the next chapter! If I don't post within the next two-three weeks, I give you free reign to web-slap my face. I'm SO sorry.**

**But yeah. What did you think? :) Was it worth the wait? XD REVIEW PLEASE K THANKS! **

**I love you, too, lurkers, but I love my reviewers more. So there.**

**Review please! :D**


	14. Breathe

**Icewater**

Chapter 14: Breathe 

**Disclaimer: See chapt. 5.**

**Review, and a pixel cookie shall be yours!**

**Enjoy!**

**No cookies for lurkers! .**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 

Madara leapt backwards as King Hiashi let out a startled shout. The rocks, hot and sharp, shot past a few Hyuuga members, scratching them. They winced and yelped.

Even Sasuke visibly flinched, turning his body to shield Sakura's from any flying debris from her attack.

But what scared her the most was the way Madara's eyes flew to meet her own, narrowed and accusing.

"Search the area for sorcerers," he called to the guards. "We must re-locate, King Hiashi."

Nodding to the other Hyuuga, King Madara shot one last glare at Sakura before stomping out.  
>Sasuke took a sharp breath before grabbing Sakura's hand and pulling her back behind the curtain.<p>

"Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, and he turned to the healers surrounding the Hyuuga Princess. "I will take her," he said, and the healers reluctantly moved aside. As he lifted her gently, Sakura looked back to the spot she had exploded. It still smoked, and she immediately regretted what she had done.

_Now Madara knows even more,_ she mentally rebuked herself. _How could I have been so stupid?_

_**His words were an insult to our Mother,**_ replied her Inner hotly.

_But still! Every thing he knows about me can be used against__  
><em>_me!_

Sasuke stood, and Sakura wordlessly spread the curtain so he could leave.

_**I do agree with that,**_ her Inner said reluctantly.

_I can't go revealing merfolk secrets like healing just__  
><em>_because I can't control my temper!_

Sakura walked ahead of Sasuke and opened the door, then followed him out with as much dignity as she could muster.

_As long as he doesn't know I have my voice back, I've still got a secret up my gills,_ she thought. _As long as he doesn't know I have my voice back, _I'm in control. 

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 

It was musty.

That was his first thought when he came to.

Then: _My face is wet._

Gradually, Gaara felt his senses returning to him. He heard water splashing, and his sister sobbing quietly. Or maybe that was Kankuro. Either way, someone was crying.

The rock beneath him was either very mossy or very slimy. Possibly both. He didn't want to think about that one too much. His mouth was impossibly dry. He had the most disgusting taste in his mouth, as if he had eaten carrion.

Slowly, almost painfully, he opened his eyes.

It was dark. And slightly green; he figured it had to do with the lights... _Green lights?_

He had only ever seen something comparable to this within one of the underwater caves in Antlantica's deep ocean, where green crystals stood erect like carved statues. Those rocks glittered, but these lights burned. He squinted, groaning as fatigue overcame him. How long had he been unconscious?

"Gaara," his sister said, voice hoarse. "Gaara, we've got to leave. Gaara."

He winced as he sat up, clutching at his heart, which throbbed painfully.

"H-How long was I...?" he began. His sister wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and Kankuro sniffed rather obnoxiously.

"Too long," said his brother, flipper banging against the ground twice. "Can you make it over there?"

Gaara followed Kankuro's pointed finger and saw a pool of water, and subsequently started, realizing he was _out_ of the water.

"No time," Temari said before Gaara could begin to ask. "We lost that ages ago. C'mon!"

Gaara pulled himself to the edge of the little pool, wincing as his scales grated against the stone walls around them.

"A cave." He said it with certainty. It made sense, and the pieces were falling into place. "Sea witch Chiyo." He frowned and looked around, and saw a faint green light in a cavern further in. His sister and brother called for him as he turned around and headed that way, but he paid no heed.

Something must have happened to cause his siblings to have been desperate brought to have brought him to Chiyo. She was powerful, but her connection with the demise of Arcticia had brought an association of taboo: she was an outcast, and no one was to see her.

He dragged himself into the room.

Chiyo lay on a bed made of soft moss in a corner of the room. In the center was a bowl-shaped contraption; Gaara heard gurgling within it, and from it rose a great green glow.

_Flames,_ he thought, realizing what they were as they crackled. Green flames were aglow inside the bowl.

Gaara's eyes fell to Chiyo again.

Something pink lay in a basket by her bed. He scooted over to it, then lightly touched Chiyo's palm.

There was no pulse, although her body was still warm.

She was dead.

Suddenly everything snapped into place.

He said a quick prayer over her body, then called his siblings over.

"She wanted her body to stay here," Temari said softly, her eyes not meeting his. "She wanted to be buried in the place she called home."

Gaara looked at the cavern.

It was a dark, secluded place, somewhere between the civilization of the present and the ruins of the past.

Gaara nodded.

"Then that's how it will be," he said.

He reached down into the basket and retrieved some of what was inside it.

What he found confirmed his suspicions of what had happened.

He held a handful of pink tresses.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 

Sakura collapsed on her bed, exhausted. The daylight would be arriving any moment now, yet she hadn't slept a wink at all. She supposed she should sleep now, since that was probably what everyone else would be doing, but try as she might, she couldn't. Her mind wouldn't let her forget her time with Sasuke, and her heart wouldn't let her forget what he did to her. She was breathless sometimes with him. He was... well... Sasuke.

And that made all the difference.

She was sitting in her bed, not having laid down yet, when Ino entered.

"Good morning!" she said cheerily, closing the door behind her. Sakura hastily flopped downwards, pulling her blanket over her head.

_Oh, no!_ she thought desperately_. I can't possibly go to court today! Not after—_

The look in Madara's eyes after she had shot at his feet made her feel cold all over and filled her with dread.

"Oh, come on, sunlight isn't all that bad!" Ino chastised from the other side of the blanket in a reason manner. Sakura heard her shoes tapping on the ground.

She was going to open the window.

The window the guards were watching her from.

She shot out of bed and leapt over to the curtains, grabbing them and pulling them closer behind her as she faced Ino.

The blonde girl frowned.

"Wha...?" She gave Sakura a perplexed glance. "What...?"

"I-I can explain," Sakura automatically responded.

For a few agonizing moments, there was dead silence.

And then Ino screamed.

"Shhhh!" Sakura shushed Ino hurriedly.

"But-But you just-"

"_I can explain!"_ Sakura said quickly. "Just... Let me... _Please_." Her voice became a whisper. "Please let me explain..."

Ino calmed down, taking a deep breath.

"Okay," said the blonde, "Shoot."

Sakura took a deep breath herself.

"It starts with a legend where I come from..." she began. 

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Hmm..."

Ino was frowning, brushing Sakura's hair. After freaking out for a good half hour or so, Ino had accepted Sakura's story as truth. Currently, they were talking about Tsunade's past within the castle walls.

"I just need records," Sakura said. "Or something like them. Something that could hold visitor information."

"We don't keep logs of who comes and goes," admitted Ino. "Let's see... Records... Records..." She combed a knot from Sakura's hair. "Maybe the history books would have something on it. There's a castle library," she continued, using the brush to pull half of Sakura's hair back. "If there's anything about a mermaid - could you pass me the blue ribbon? Thanks - about a mermaid from ages ago, it'd be there." She tied the ribbon into a bow, and tightened it a bit. "I can show you, if you'd like." Ino fluffed Sakura's hair a bit. "What do you think? Like it?"

"Yes," Sakura said distractedly, only glancing at her reflection for a moment. It was still difficult to see herself with blonde hair. "Oh!" She realized something and turned in her chair to face her blonde companion. "What are we going to do about my hair tomorrow?" she asked, worried. "It's going to be pink again!"

Ino laughed. "We'll just give you one of those awful, gaudy bobbles the shallow court ladies wear." Ino winked as Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Don't worry," she assured, "I'll find _something_ decent for you." She clapped. "Stand and twirl, please!"

Sakura did as Ino said, letting the gown she wore float about her as she spun. Ino laughed.

"It goes so well!" she said happily. "It even matches the bracelet Prince Sasuke gave to you!" she remarked. She lightly touched the blue ribbon in Sakura's hair. "And this really brings out your eyes."

Sakura smiled warmly at Ino.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "I can't imagine how I would have lasted as long as I have without your help."

Ino waved her hand dismissively.

"The outfit only emphasizes your natural femininity," she explained, grinning. "Wooing Sasuke has been all you!"

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Even so," she said, "Thank you, Ino."

Ino's blue eyes softened.

"Any time, Sakura," she responded. "I haven't known you for long, but... I consider you a friend."

Sakura smiled.

"As do I," she replied.

Ino clapped her hands.

"Well, let's not keep those dusty old history books waiting!" she said brightly. "Follow me! And _REMEMBER_," she said, dropping her voice, "Don't say a thing."

Sakura nodded.

_I won't,_ she thought to herself.

Ino led her down the hallway, and then down multiple flights of stairs; if she wasn't breathless after that, she certainly was by the time they'd crossed the multiple gardens leading to the library.

It was a secluded building, and from the outside almost resembled a greenhouse. Ivy grew on the walls, and Sakura was reminded of the coral reef protecting her castle in the way the ivy twisted and spread out and over itself.

"I thought we could spend some time reading together," Ino said loudly. "It's something to do, since you can't speak and all. Ahh," she sighed dramatically, "Well, you'll have entertainment this way, at least." She crinkled her nose. "Personally, I despise reading. It doesn't come naturally to women like me." Ino continued to prattle on about nothing in particular while she opened the door.

They entered, and Sakura was suddenly overcome by a wonderful scent.

"It always reeks of ink and paper," said Ino, waving her hand in front or her face. "I much prefer the archive books, myself. Sure, there's dust, but nobody catches you napping there!" She motioned for Sakura to follow her, and the two girls made their way to the very back of the library.

Sakura was fascinated. Knowledge was stored in books, and there were hundreds upon hundreds of books stored here. The thought of being able to see someone's thoughts from thousands of years ago was invigorating, even moreso than the smell of books was intoxicating.

Sakura followed Ino as they passed rows and rows of books stacked together neatly on wooden shelves.

_In Konoha, they make everything from the bark of the forest trees, don't they?_she asked herself.

_**Well, it's a good resource, and there's plenty of it,**_ responded her Inner. _**They may as well.**_

Sakura agreed with her other half.

_It's very strong,_ she said, recalling the ship In the Ridges. _Didn't Sasuke say the spirits resided in the forest?_ She looked around herself. _Maybe they bless the bark the humans use so it doesn't rot._

_**If they blessed it, it would never break,**_ replied her Inner. _**Besides, we're not here to discuss what may or may not live outside Konoha; we're here to find who used to live inside it.**_

Sakura nodded.

_Right, sorry,_ she replied. _I got sidetracked._

_**I noticed,**_ replied her Inner in a semi-teasing tone.

Ino finally stopped in front of a long corridor lit with torches. Sakura glanced up at the fire and then hurried forward.

_It's scary in close quarters,_ she thought, walking just a bit closer to Ino.

_**Mother said it could burn.**_

_I know,_ she thought back. _And I—_

"Owch!" Ino cried. Sakura backtracked a bit, gasping. She had stepped on the back of Ino's light pink slippers, and evidently must have injured her friend, who was wincing and looking back at her right ankle.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said automatically, "I ju-"

"Please don't step on me again!" she said loudly, reaching forward and grabbing Sakura's arm. "I forgive you, don't worry!" she said, and then pulled Sakura into a hug. _"Don't talk!"_ she hissed into her ear. "What if someone _heard_ you?"

With that, Ino pulled away and hurried forward, and after a stunned moment, Sakura shook herself and followed suit.

At the end of the hall was a wooden door. Ino opened it, and the two girls entered.

The first thing Sakura noticed about the room was how many dust particles she saw in the sunlight streaming from the high stained glass windows. It practically pooled down, there was so much of it. Ino sneezed quickly, rubbed her nose, and ushered Sakura forward, closing the door behind them.

The second thing Sakura noticed was that there were stacks of old, crinkled, yellow parchment papers, piled high on each other and spaced unevenly throughout the room.

Finally, she took in the sheer space of the room itself.

Its size rivaled that of the court. Bookcases stood in the center of the room, rows and rows of them, and thin wooden shelves holding even more books lined the walls. Ino swept over to a pile of papers, plucked the top piece off, glanced at it, and then began waving it around herself and sweeping it across the nearest paper piles; plumes of dust drifted in her wake. She made her way to a window, and Sakura followed her to it.

Ino pointed to a metal contraption by the bottom of the window.

"It's a bolt," she explained, putting her paper down on the slanted windowsill. "You pull it like this-" she demonstrated; it snapped to the other side -"And then heave!" At this, Ino pushed the window open, and it flung outwards with a monstrous creak. A gust of wind greeted them, billowing forth and causing a few stray pieces of parchment to tumble about.

Ino dusted her hands off, retrieved her parchment, and grinned at Sakura.

"Open the windows in the back, if you would, please," she ordered more than asked. Sakura nodded, smiling back, and laid he hands atop a pile to reach for a paper.

A sharp but slight pain to her pinkie made her gasp and pull her hand back. She examined her finger.

_Blood?_ she thought, somewhat in wonder, somewhat in confusion. _The paper made me bleed?_

Ino was by her side in a moment, examining the wound and then giggling.

"It's a paper cut," she explained to Sakura. "When the air is dry, and when your skin is dry, and when a piece of parchment is as thin as the one you touched-" she lifted it carefully, showing it to Sakura -"You can cut your finger. If your finger is on it." She waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry, it's not deep at all. You won't notice it in a few moments."

Sakura healed her finger quickly. Ino watched, a bit taken aback despite already knowing Sakura had this ability, before nodding.

"Now, about those windows!"

They cleaned and cleaned until no dust was left; by this point, the morning was over. Ino brought a light lunch for them to snack on.

For the remainder of the afternoon, they poured over the old castle archives.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**AN: Not much happening, but the last scene is important to lead into a key turning point in the story.**

**Review please!**

**I officially hate you, lurkers! I just need one. More. Stinking. Review! But noooo, none of you readers reviewed last chapter! Bleh! Be that way! Review this time!**

**On a side note, I'm starting to wrap things up! A few more chapters to go! Woohoo!**

But seriously, review please. It makes me feel loved.


	15. Siren

**Icewater**

Chapter 15: Siren

**Disclaimer: no more. I refuse. I. Re. FUSE!**

**I think I'll start dedicating chapters to my more dedicated/touching reviewers. So. This one's for you, **_Lungs_**! You always seem to know exactly where I'm going. Also to dear **_SasuSakuKawaii_**, who probably counts for a good half of my total reviews. Remember what i told you about? It is time for the others to know XD**

**Thanks to both of you, and this is for you!**

**Enjoy!**

**Review please!**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o 

Sasuke glanced at the window, where warm sunlight pooled in golden streaks down onto the cold stone floor of the court room.

The girl wasn't here.

He huffed in frustration, both for still not knowing her name and for fruitlessly having come here. He made to turn around and stomp out, but a sudden high-pitched voice froze him in place.

"Sasuke~~~!"

Wincing on the inside, Sasuke smoothly took a large step backwards, effectively removing himself from Karin's tackling range. She ran into the open space with an unscrupulous yelp and steadied herself, whirling around to face him, undeterred by his lack of attention.

"I've missed you these past few days," she cooed innocently.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What have you been doing here these past few days?" he asked sharply. Karin was not supposed to be here. She hadn't come to the castle since he...

His eyes flashed red for just an instant.

"_He_ put you up to this." It was stated as a fact, and neither denied its legitimacy. Instead, Karin let out a ridiculous peal of giggles.

"It's time for you to come back with us," she chimed lightly, eyes glittering conspiratorially. "We still need you. What ever happened to Taka?" She stuck her bottom lip out. "Those other boys aren't worth it if you're not there, too!"

Sasuke did not reply, instead looking around. His eyes alighted on a Hyuuga who looked around his age, and he brushed Karin aside and walked over to him. He barely held back a groan of annoyance when he heard her ruffled dress behind him as she trailed after him.

He didn't need this right now. Especially not now that the Hyuuga had arrived.

"Hey," he greeted, stopping a foot or two away from the young man. The youth turned to face him, bowing just low enough as etiquette required him to.

For some reason, this set Sasuke on edge. He sensed this young man did not like him.

_Then I'll return the feeling,_ he thought to himself.

"Good day, Prince Sasuke," said the young Hyuuga. "It is a great honor." He righted himself, and his pale eyes locked onto Sasuke's. "I trust you are in good health?" he asked politely.

Inwardly, Sasuke huffed again in irritation.

_Court politics,_ he thought in annoyance. _I hate court politics._

Outwardly, his poker face remained unbroken as he responded with a monotone.

"I am. And yourself?"

The Hyuuga replied equally, and then Sasuke hurriedly spoke. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the agonizing confines of a drawn-out court conversation. He wanted - _needed_ - to get to the point.

"What is your relation to the Princess Hinata?" he asked.

The Hyuuga barely suppressed a frown, and Sasuke noticed.

"I am of the Branch family. A mere cousin, son of Prince Hizashi." Although his tone was dismissive of his rank, Sasuke had an inkling that his lineage mattered more to the boy than he let on. "I am Neji Hyuuga."

Sasuke nodded.

"It is a pleasure, Neji," he said. "Is your cousin well?"

Neji cracked a smile.

"Princess Hinata is still resting," he said, "But I have the utmost confidence that she will be awake in time for dinner."

Translation: She hadn't yet woken up, but was doing just fine.

Sasuke smiled just a little.

"That's good to know." Sasuke straightened. "Has the demon that attacked you been caught yet?" he asked conversationally. Now that he had ascertained the info he needed, he planned on quickly wrapping this up.

He _needed_ to find the girl.

Well, okay, _wanted,_ but in either case, he needed to end this little chit-chat.

"I heard he was a horrid, murderous thing," piped up Karin.

Sasuke had forgotten about her. Curse court politics.

"This is an acquaintance of mine," Sasuke said. "Karin, meet Neji Hyuuga."

Karin curtsied low as Neji bowed slightly.

"An honor," said Karin, grinning widely. Neji returned her bubbly look with a stoic face.

"The honor is mine," he replied, as was required by etiquette. "Lady Karin, rumors are often misleading." He shook his head. "The demon was destroyed. Someone else slayed it." Neji's eyes became distant as he recalled the events of the previous day. "He had saved the Princess from rogue bandits. We allowed him to travel with us." He looked up at Sasuke, having just remembered something. "He was on his way to speak to you... About a friend of his."

Sasuke chanced a glance at Karin. She was equally as interested in this development.

Which meant either money was involved, or Orochimaru had sent her to gather information such as this.

"But wasn't the demon chased out to sea?" she asked, a mask of confusion plastered onto her face.

Sasuke had to hand it to her: She was an excellent actress.

But he could see through her.

She wanted this information for Orochimaru.

_But she's not going to get it,_ he thought.

"Be that as it may," Sasuke said, effectively silencing Karin from speaking again, "I would like to speak to you about your cousin's condition. In private," he added, looking at Karin. For a moment, her face was rebelliously disdainful, but in the blink of an eye she was smiling, curtsying low to each man before retreating back into the court society.

Sasuke nodded to Neji.

"Come."

The two boys walked out of the courtroom, and Sasuke led him down to the first floor. They continued until they had reached the garden nearest the old library; it was a secluded place. Not many, nobles and servants alike, tended to visit the library, and similarly, the garden in front of it was not well-cared for.

Or perhaps it was; Sasuke had heard from gossiping servants that Ino enjoyed reading. Perhaps the "overgrown" garden was an illusion, meant really to warn most people away from a place the gardening handmaiden liked to sneak away to, a place where she could spend time without the complicated worries and delicate politics within the main castle walls.

Sasuke picked out a path leading into the garden and walked along it until he knew they would not be visible to anyone coming to or going from the library.

Without turning to face Neji, he spoke.

"What happened yesterday?" he asked.

He heard Neji shift.

"The demon came in the shape of a fish that morphed into a man. The boy who saved Princess Hinata the day before fought him; Princess Hinata saved him from a fatal attack." Sasuke heard the boy take a deep breath. "The boy... When Hinata was cut down in front of him, he... It was as if a demon possessed him. He changed shape." The boy let out a soft laugh. "The only thing I could think at the time was that the Legendary Kyuubi had risen out of the oceans to kill us all."

Sasuke turned to face Neji in time to see the boy shaking his head.

"But he only attacked the demon," he said quietly. "The Elders ran him off. He was chased to the ocean, and grew an orange fin and retreated to the waters." He looked up at Sasuke.

The Uchiha Prince was silent, an odd sensation creeping over him.

"What did he look like?" he asked carefully.

"His hair was blonde, and his eyes were blue..." Neji turned seaward. "Blue like the ocean at dawn."

Sasuke felt the sensation spreading throughout his body.

"And his name?" he asked.

The Hyuuga opened his eyes and looked into Sasuke's.

Sasuke put a name to the sensation: pure, raw dread.

"Naruto Uzumaki," said Neji.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"How's this?"

Sakura tiredly rubbed her eyes.

"What does it say?" she asked. Ino looked down at the book she held.

"It mentions mermaids..." she said, flipping to the page indicated in the index. "...Oh, it's just legends."

Sakura felt her ears perk up. Her Mother had always told her stories of history by way of legends and folk tales; even with the Prophecy, her Mother had called it a tale from long ago. Perhaps human historians were not much different?

"Let's see it!" she said, scooting towards Ino. Each girl had been sorting through her own selected piles of books and papers. Now, they both leaned over the book Ino held.

"I still can't believe we share the same writing system," mumbled Ino. Her expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe we trace our roots back to the same ancestors? That would be something!"

Sakura cleared her throat. She was tired; she hadn't slept since yesterday, but she needed to do this.

"Long ago, there lived a sea creature so powerful, it ruled the earth. With its ability to destroy mountains with the flick of its tail and the power to create tsunamis with a snort of its nostrils, it reigned supreme over land and sea. Then one day, a princess of a foreign land grew weary of the beasts constant destruction and sovereignty. She set out to tame it." Ino sucked in a breath. "I know this one! It's a fairy tale!"

Sakura frowned.

"I..." She closed her mouth, opened it, and closed it again. "For some reason... Never mind." She shook her head.

_I feel as if I've heard this before,_ Sakura thought. _But Mother never..._

"Hmm..." Ino looked back to the paper, trailing her right index finger beneath the words as she continued reading. "She set out to tame it.

"The Princess came from a kingdom renowned for its magic. She knew a great deal and was wise beyond her years. Using her mind and sorcery combined, she created a vessel to take herself to sea. She fearlessly sailed alone into the freezing deep waters ruled by the beast.

"The beast surfaced from the depths of the waters.

'Who dares to enter my domain?' it asked, snarling. The Princess was unshaken and continued sailing. The beast reared and smashed the front of the barge. The Princess, at that moment, leapt onto the beast's tail and crawled along it until she reached its body. She continued up until she reached his head. There, she curled into a ball in the fur of his ears and rested, for she had been exhausted by her journey.

"The beast, too proud of his own destruction of her ship, did not notice her presence. He took the wreckage in his arms and went to her Kingdom, saying, 'Look, all you who doubt my power. You see before you the grave of your rulers heir.'

"The people, not knowing the Princess had survived, let out a wail of pain. It shook the world, and the Princess awoke, startled. The ground shook from the people's outcry, and the beast stumbled, falling back into the waters. The wreckage of the Princess' ship had fallen before the beast had, and so he landed on it. It wounded him a great deal, and he unleashed a road of pain, his tails lashing out furiously.

"The Princess saw this and realized her people were in danger. She crawled further into the beasts ear, careful to be as silent as possible.

"From her youth, the Mother of the Princess had sung to the young girl a lullaby of thanks and hope for peace. The Princess, recalling it, began to sing.

"The beast heard her voice, and was soothed. When she stopped, he begged her to continue. She replied she would only do so if he agreed to never harm another land and to instead return to the seas forever. The beast was angered by this.

'How can I hear your song if I am not on land?' it asked her.

'If you do as I have commanded, you will hear my song again,' she replied.

"The Princess returned to her kingdom, and the beast returned to his abode deep within the oceans. The Princess made known to her Kingdom her promise to the beast. The people, so devoted to her, did not want her to leave them.

'I must go,' she told them.

'Then so shall we,' they replied.

"The Kingdom gathered their most powerful sorcerers, and together, they enchanted the Kingdom. It fell beneath the waters of the oceans, and sank to the floor. There, the people were transformed so they could live beneath the icy seas.

"The Princess entered the beasts lair.

'I have come,' she said to it. She sang, and the beast was calmed.

'I do not wish for you to ever leave,' it told her. The Princess smiled.

'Then stay with me,' she replied, spreading her arms.

"Its spirit entered her, and the beast was tamed. The Princess and the beast, now one entity, ruled the waters until the Princess had grown too old. Her son replaced her on the throne. On her deathbed, she entrusted the beast's spirit to him. This is the cycle of the Sea Demon and the Princess of the Ocean."

Sakura felt her eyes go wide.

"It all makes sense!" she gasped.

"Yeah, that's probably how we have the same writi-"

"The Demon! It was _Kyuubi!"_ Sakura clapped her hands. "_THAT'S_ where I've heard this story before! In Atlantica, they tell it every year on the spirit wielder's birthing day!" She had been to several of Naruto's birthing day ceremonies, although she usually didn't pay much attention. She frowned. "But the part about her Kingdom sinking under is new to me..."

"There are some theorists who suggest the fairy tale and the legend of Atlantis are connected," said Ino. "Come to think of it, Atlantica and Atlantis both come from the root 'Atlas.'"

And then Sakura made sense of it all.

"No..." she whispered, her breath catching in her throat. "That..." She touched her throat lightly.

"What?" asked Ino.

"It sank beneath _icy_ waters," she whispered. "Ice..." The Ice Ridges... Her voice underwater...

Sakura closed her eyes.

"The Ice Ridges are the remnants of Arcticia. The earliest part of Arcticia." She gasped. "The ship...! The shipwreck, it's the ship from the legend!"

_**Whose skeleton is that then?**_ asked her Inner. _**The one floating around inside? It couldn't be the Princess, right?**_

"Did the Princess have others aboard her ship?" Sakura asked Ino.

Ino frowned.

"Some of the more ancient versions of the tale say the Princess was stolen away by a suitor, and the beast destroyed the ship because she cried out for his help."

"The song was his reward, then?" asked Sakura. Ino shook her head.

"In those versions, the Princess was so terrified of the crashing waves of the ocean and evil aura of the beast that she sang to herself in hopes that it would comfort her." She frowned. "Of course, those versions also say the beast fell madly in love with her, and the bit about their spirits joining is... Not so spiritual."

Sakura waved her hand, imitating Ino's dismissing gesture.

"The point is that her voice above water was her Arctician voice," Sakura said hurriedly. "But below water, her Kingdom's people must have migrated to warmer waters. It must have become Atlantica!" Sakura's eyes were wide as saucers. "That's why Mother went to Atlantica after Arcticia was destroyed! We're - Naruto and I – _every single merperson_ - we're _all_ related to the Princess!"

_NOW_ she knew why her voice had gone along with her Arctician birthright. But then how had Chiyo gotten it back...?

"So then, you have lineage to both Ar-Arcticia -" Ino stumbled over the name "- and Atlantica?"

Sakura grabbed Ino's hands.

"_THAT'S HOW SHE DID IT!"_ she cried. Ino blinked.

"What?"

"The sea witch," replied Sakura, a bit flustered. _How_ could she not have put it all together sooner? It all made so much sense now!

"Uh..." said Ino, confused. "I'm not... Following..."

"Chiyo used a spell to link my Arctician and Atlantican lineage!" said Sakura. "When my Mother, Arcticia's princess, came here years ago, she traded my right to the throne for a hand at love," Sakura explained quickly. "Because of that, the Kingdom was destroyed, and I lost everything connecting me to Arcticia." Her eyes watered as a new revelation came upon her. "Even my Mother, eventually." She blinked the tears away. "That includes my Siren, above-water, voice." She waved her hands sporadically as she continued, accentuating her speech. "But Naruto is Atlantican, and because he's a descendant of the Princess, he has a Siren voice. Chiyo must have somehow used her magic to connect me and the Arcticians who became the first rulers of Atlantica, then used that as a pathway to send me my Arctician rights- through my Atlantican rights!" she clapped her hands excitedly, her tiredness long forgotten. "I can't believe it," she said. "I owe Chiyo so much!"

_**And we can never repay her,**_ said her Inner somewhat solemnly.

_Oh, yes we can!_ replied Sakura hotly.

Sakura stood.

"Ino," she said slowly. "What would I need to do to steal Prince Sasuke's ship?"

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Naruto knew something was up when he arrived in Pacifica.

It was chaos, to put it simply. Naruto wasn't much of a thinker, but even he knew it was one of the most important duties of a kingdom to maintain the peace in its civilian society.

This was most definitely not peace.

"H-Hey!" he yelled loudly, having been shoved aside roughly by a Merman holding a basket of food. "What's going on?" Naruto mumbled, glancing about. His momentary stationary state led to a large mermaid slapping him to the left with her fin as she scurried past him. All around Naruto, the ocean floors of Pacifica were crowded as civilians shoved each other this way and that, in a hurry to buy emergency goods or find a loved one or make some last-minute arrangements. Naruto noted a number of families packing, or already heading out.

_Where do they plan on going?_ he asked himself skeptically. _The Outwaters?_ Nowhere was safe now; Naruto could sense it. Oceania had fallen, Pacifica was (obviously) still unaware their ruler was alive again, Atlantica was probably torn between rushing to battle and carefully waiting before making a move, and Naruto was wondering how in the seven seas he could possibly make this situation any worse.

The answer came to him with a face-full of sea carrots.

"Bleagh!" he yelped, pushing them away from himself.

"You! Thief!" cried an old merchant, pointing accusingly at the blonde.

"_WHAT?"_ Naruto asked, offended. "I would never steal anything! Ever!" He paused. "Unless I had to." He realized his mistake as the man's eyes narrowed. "Wait, no, I-"

"Get him!" cried the old man. "The blonde boy! Thief! He stole my sea carrots!"

Naruto growled frustratedly and swam away from the merchant, only to find other Merfolk attempting to restrain him. He yanked himself away.

"What gives?" he said, unhappily glaring at the merchant. "_You_ knocked your stupid food into my face! I didn't do anything! Believe it!"

"I don't," spat the old merchant.

Naruto decided it was probably time to make his way to Gaara's office. Hopefully he would be back soon from Chiyo's cave...

He would need all the help he could get.

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**AN: From this point on, you may officially call this "The Grand Finale." What did ya think of THAT twist, hmm? **

**Review please! I will personal reply to shower you with praise and blessings! Who DOESN'T want praise and blessings? :P**

**So yeah. REVIEW!**


	16. Shadows

Icewater

Chapter 16: Shadows

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: Deep breaths, take it easy. I know this is hard to hear. But you need to hear this. I don't own squat.<strong>

Lots of love to Chelty-chan! You all should check out her work- she's amazing!

Thanks for reading! Please review!

Also, I love you very very much, Light Penguin. I love "Sailor Moon: Haato Wa Mangekyou" more than I love my sexy self, and that's saying something. Keep up the amazing writing, and never forget: forgive the IPhone spellcheck, for it knows not what it does.

****If you're on a mobile device, my formatting isn't transferring over to it properly (for whatever reason). If you can, read it in the Desktop format. It's at it's best then.***

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She loved to pretend she was a shark when she was a young girl.

She would swim around and growl, baring her teeth, hair flying out behind her, vibrant tail swishing violently to and fro in the warm tropical waters of Atlantica. The sunlight would float downward to the white sandy ocean floors covered in dazzlingly colorful coral, and fish would swim away from her in a hurry, playfully indulging her fantasy. She imagined she was a great white, majestic, powerful, swift, and silent. One of the few sea creatures able to overpower fish, man and merfolk alike, sharks were considered dangerous and fierce, menacing and cruel.

But Kushina liked to pretend she was a shark that was an exception to all the stereotypes.

She would pretend she had been orphaned by a human net, which had caught all her family except her, and was hunting fish all alone in order to survive. She would chase angel fish, but then 'realize' they were too quick for her; next, she would go for the clownfish, but of course the anemone protecting them would be too troublesome to bother with.

Finally, she would decide to eat a merperson. She imagined someone, perhaps a redheaded peasant like herself, perhaps an exotic Arctician Prince, and perhaps a drab, pale-finned Oceanican, who would be startled by her but unable to escape.

And right before she would close her jaws around them, she would realize the dangerous, fierce, menacing, cruel ways of the sharks were barbaric and just... Not her style. She would pretend to apologize to the merperson and then become their best friend.

She liked to believe that she could someday have a best friend.

More than anything, growing up in the blue, clear waters of Atlantica had allowed Kushina to remain optimistic and hopeful, despite her hurricane of a childhood. At age six, her parent had died in a skirmish between Arcticia and Atlantica, and she had been tossed abruptly by the winds of tragedy into the chilly currents of the adult world, which she eventually learned to navigate without misshap. Atlantica was a place where the poor aided the poor, and the rich helped the rich; those of different class did not mingle, and those of the same took care of their own. It was not, she had long ago discovered, the ideal childhood, but it was for a good purpose.

She learned, in her childhood, that the waters were always warmer on the other side of the current, so to speak. Kushina, while playing Shark, would always stray as far as she could from her home, and as near the royal palace as possible. She would watch from afar as the maids-in-waiting and men-at-arms socialized and went about their work; she peered through the woven ocean flowers and ivy to gaze upon the magnificent gardens grown along the perimeter of the palace limits.

But most of all, she scrutinized the merfolk swimming to and fro for signs of the royal family.

Once, as a little girl, she would have sworn the King had visited her family. She did not remember much; a low, clear voice, conversing with the sounds of her mother's breathy alto and her father's piercing tenor, the hum and tingling sensation of a healer's touch against her abdomen, the shimmer of silky robes of royal colors and the soft feel of fabric grazing her palm, a flash of blonde and a peal of a boy's laughter.

She would have sworn the King had visited, but her neighbors denied it, gently patting her red head, as if to clear it of silly notions.

But even as a child, Kushina was no fool.

If the King had not visited her, then surely someone of the royal lineage had. Only the Namikaze line, lords and ladies below King Sarutobi, had hair of a color like sunlight above-water. The son, the youngest, was in training to become King.

Kushina never pretended to meet him in her shark game. It was too risky, to tempt fate to steal away the slim chance that they might cross paths someday.

She was eight when they did.

Snooping around the castle paid off. One morning, when the waters were still slightly cold from the night and the sunlight was streaming down in thin strands of white and gold, Kushina saw a mermaid with hair as pale as the white sands swim outside the court gates, heading for one of the gardens Kushina was presently observing. The mermaids hair was thick and curly and beautiful, as were her big, bright blue eyes. But she was not happy; she frowned deeply as Kushina looked on. Her golden fin shimmered under the sun's rays, and the mermaid sighed. She reached out and gently traced her fingers across a flower, fingers slowly caressing each petal. Kushina looked on curiously, wondering why this beautiful noblewoman was so sad.

"What do you think you're doing?"

The voice came from behind her, and Kushina lashed out with her flipper instinctively, shrieking and whipping around.

Her flipper connected with something, and a yelp followed the sound of the slap. The water whirled from the motion, and she saw a tumble of yellow spiral into the sand below her. Gasping, she warily circled the figure of a merman.

With a groan, he righted himself, pushing off the sand with his hands and floating upwards, shaking a mass of impossibly blonde hair to rid it of sediments. Kushina felt herself stiffen.

"N-Nami..." she managed.

The merman faced her, a glare on his face that effectively silenced her.

"What were you doing?" he repeated. Kushina could only stare, mouth agape, at the merman.

At the future King of Atlantica.

"Minato Namikaze."

The boy's eyes narrowed, and he floated higher than her, so as to look down at her. Crossing his arms, he said again, "What were you doing?"

Kushina, in spite of herself, felt annoyance well up within her.

"What were YOU doing?" she snapped back. It didn't matter that he was royalty; he deserved another slap from her flipper. Who did he think he was, talking down to her like that? As if he was ABOVE HER; never mind that, socially-speaking, he was; she had only been playing! She had done nothing to deserve the glare he was sending her. She swam up to his level, imitating his haughty pose, and flipped her red hair over her shoulder. "You absolutely got what was coming to you!" She smirked as his frown deepened, and met his eyes.

"Loitering on the royal grounds is a serious crime," the boy said, pretending not to have heard her previous statement. "Leave."

Kushina raised an eyebrow and floated higher.

"No," she replied simply.

Minato Namikaze floated up to her level and glared daggers at her.

"Spying on royalty is punishable by death," he continued.

Kushina felt a trickle of fear enter her. Death? But she hadn't done anything wrong! Then her annoyance became anger. How DARE he threaten her?

"I wasn't SPYING," she spat, "I was OBSERVING."

"They're nearly the same thing," Minato Namikaze said in return.

"Your rules don't scare me, little PRINCE," she said, venom tinging every syllable. "My parents are dead. I'm not scared to die. Maybe I even WANT to. How would YOU know?" She let a scowl appear on her face. "You grow up worrying about FLOWERS-" she pointed at the wall the woman (who must be related to him, she realized) was beyond -"as if flowers do anything but look pretty. I grew up a long time ago." She puffed her chest out. "I worry about lives. And sharks. And hooks. Dangerous things. Only they're normal." She closed her eyes and felt warmth spread throughout her body. She let it flow to her fingertips and thought of her game of Shark.

Then she thought of her anger with the boy in front of her.

She opened her eyes and saw a light, light blue glow at her fingertips darken and become a black, black purple that made the water around it bubble and hiss.

This was nowhere near the color it had turned the day her parents had died, but she noted to herself that her anger was letting her inner demon free.

Good. It would sting.

She flicked her finger.

The glow shot from her hand and scraped the bottom of Minato Namikaze's yellow fin. He let out a snarl, and then her attack hit the sand beneath them, sending it out in all directions with a soft 'ploom!' from the impact. The sand swirled and floated about them, and for a moment Kushina entertained the thought that the stars had come down to glow on her.

And then Minato Namikaze was roughly grabbing her wrist, pulling her in the opposite direction of the wall.

Realization and fear flooded her. She had attacked the Prince. Startled, she saw blood floating away from his fin, dissipating into the surrounding waters.

_Oh God, oh God, the King will have me killed for this._ Panic overtook her completely.

"No!" she whispered. "No..." Minato Namikaze continued to pull her along, but she began struggling against him.

She was going to die. They were going to kill her. This was it. Just like her parents, she would die over something stupid.

"I don't want to!" she wailed, frantically grabbing at Minato's hand in an attempt to free herself. "Don't kill me!_ DON'T LET THEM KILL ME!"_

He said nothing, pulling her along so quickly she had no choice but to follow. She heard commotion from behind her and began to sob.

Minato's hand released her, and then shoved her forward.

"Get out," he said. "Go. NOW."

Kushina did not question him.

She fled as swiftly as her fin would take her.

It was not until she lay in bed that night that she realized he had saved her from the death she had claimed she had not feared.

The moment he had rescued her had been - ironically - the moment she had fallen in love with him.

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"Ino!"

It was evening. Ino had just dropped Sakura off in her room and was heading down to the kitchen to bring up a light dinner the two of them could share. Whirling around by reflex, Ino saw Shikamaru approaching lazily, taking small, leisurely steps. Beside him stood Choji, who held a sack that, she deduced, probably held food. She stopped and let the two males catch up to her before continuing on her way.

It was silent while they accompanied her. They entered the narrow servant sidedoor to the kitchens and slipped inside. The cook, a plump woman waving a fan at a fire, glanced up; upon seeing Ino, she nodded and returned her attention to her work. Seeing this as permission to continue, Ino hurriedly piled fruits onto a platter. A cauldron with boiling soup stood in the center of the kitchen; a fire blazed beneath it. Ino ladled some of the stew into two small bowls and then stoked the fire before filling a jug with water, grabbing two goblets, and placing all the dinner objects on a large platter. She motioned impatiently to the men accompanying her; Choji opened the door for her, and Shikamaru followed her as she left. Walking briskly, she sped hurriedly up the stairs and corridors the servants used until she was walking down the hall to Sakura's room.

It was just as she was about to knock that she realized the boys hadn't dispersed from her side.

"What?" she asked, not turning around to face them. Ino prided herself on sensing these boys' feelings; they had, after all, grown up together.

And right now she was feeling waves of intense curiosity from them.

Sure enough, Chouji broke the silence.

"What's been going on, Ino?" he asked.

Ino shrugged, careful not to unbalance the tray she held.

"This noble's demanding," she replied. Neither boy spoke, and she knew they expected more. She sighed. "Look," she said, slowly turning to face them. "I honestly don't know that much."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He had always been like that. If he could communicate something with a feature rather than words, he would, because it was much less work on his part. He was a lazy youth. Brilliant, but lazy. It was why he had not been promoted to General and his Father had not retired yet: his lack of drive (or effort) still made him unsuitable for the role. Even so, Prince Sasuke had long ago recognized the genius within Shikamaru, and had essentially given him the unofficial role of right-hand-man. On the frequent voyages the Prince set out on, Shikamaru had full command of any and all ships partaking in the journey. He often had to resort to yelling to get the sailors to hear his commands, but he was always obeyed and rarely questioned. Still, though, if he could get away with signals instead of using his voice, he would, because that was who he was.

Ino frowned at Shikamaru. He was right, she knew, to suspect something more going on, but it was not her place to tell him. In any case, she reasoned, she was in no position to reveal anything to anyone; the fact that Sakura had been forced to flee her home meant that now whatever - or whoever - had scared the girl away was a threat to Ino as well. If information got out that Ino was hiding Sakura, there could potentially be consequences.

Ino hated not being in control, so she tended to hold fast to pertinent matters.

Matters like the ones Shikamaru and Chouji were asking about.

"She's mute," Ino said simply. "Seriously, I don't know any more than you." Her eyes glimmered ever so slightly as a slightly devious idea entered her mind. "The Prince is pining after her, but maybe he's covering up for something. I guess. As I said, I don't know." There. Shikamaru's narrowed eyes and Chouji's startled round ones confirmed her hope that the boys would buy into her lie.

_Let them think it's Sasuke's secret to hide_, she thought smugly.

Without another word, Ino turned back to the door and rapped loudly.

The boys eyed her warily as Ino waved them away. They did not move. She opened her mouth to chastise them-

_**Click.**_

The doors opened. Sakura, hair tied up and hidden beneath a long, shimmering red veil, peeked her head out, green eyes locking onto Ino's two companions.

Briskly, Ino walked inside, shoving the tray into the other girls hands, pulling her back from the doors, and kicking them closed with her shoes.

"Who was-" Sakura began.

"Hurry and eat, before the food gets cold!" Ino said pointedly. She leaned her back against the doors, casually placing each hand over the keyholes she knew Shikamaru and Chouji would be trying to stealthily peer through. Unfortunately for them, she could see their shadows through the bottoms of the doors.

It had been one of the first of few things Shikamaru had taught her when they were young.

_"See that?" he had asked, pointing towards the door leading into the Court. _

_"Uh, yeah," she had replied. Was Shikamaru as dumb as he sounded right now? she had wondered. Of course I can see the door!_

_Shikamaru directed his finger downward._

_"See those?" he asked. Ino huffed, irritated by his nonsense._

_"WHAT about it?" she had replied snappily._

_Shikamaru let his hand fall._

_"What do YOU think it means?" he responded, never raising his voice. Ino, on the other hand, squealed in frustration._

_"I don't KNOW," she said, stomping her foot. "I don't KNOW, I don't_ CARE, _and I-"_

_His hand covered her mouth._

_"Shh," he whispered, eyes trained on the ground beneath the doors. Ino followed his gaze._

_A shadow shifted, ever so slightly._

_"Court's in session," she whispered, horrified. She had been taught strictly - as all the children within the castle walls had - not to make a sound during a Court assembly, whether inside the Court or passing by it. There were harsh penalties for interruptions by servants._

_Shikamaru had silently taken her hand and continued walking._

_"To the gardens?" Ino asked. _

_Shikamaru did not respond, but his silence was more than enough of an answer._

Sakura smiled gratefully at her, evidently unaware of prying eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but Ino hastily cut her off.

"I do wish we could carry on conversation, don't you?" Ino grinned, biting her lip. Slowly, Sakura caught on, green eyes furrowing as she imitated Ino's motion. Ino pressed forward, motioning to the small table in the corner of the bedroom. "Let's eat. I see you put the veil on early! It was for tomorrow."

Sakura quietly followed Ino. The blonde set the table hurriedly, then pranced over to the doors and flung them open.

The hallway was empty.

Of course. Just as she knew them like the back of her hand, they knew Ino better than she did herself. They must have recognized her anger and hastened away as soon as she'd been too far to hear their scampering. Biting her cheek, Ino slammed the doors closed again and stomped back to the table, where a worried Sakura sat.

"Eavesdroppers," Ino said by way of explanation. Sakura's eyebrows shot up, and she opened her mouth to ask for more details, but Ino elaborated. "They're just my old friends, and they're protective." She made a face. "Like brothers... Only friends." She made a face as Sakura smiled knowingly. "Ugh, that is SUCH an awkward thought!"

Shaking her head, Sakura dipped her spoon into the hot stew and began eating; Ino followed suit.

"They're troublesome," Sakura said softly a few moments into the meal, "But you need those friends."

Ino lowered the spoonful she had been about to consume.

"I suppose," she said. "But sometimes I wish they'd back off a bit."

Sakura laughed.

"Me, too," she said, a bit more enthusiastically. "But then that's what makes them the great friends that they are." She looked toward her window then. It didn't take much to understand why. The Kyuubi boy had been close to the girl. Ino wondered just how close as she looked at Sakura's far-away gaze.

Ino grinned, lifting her spoon again and slurping her stew.

"Yup," she replied, and the two girls finished their meals contentedly and with soft, animated chatter.

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**A/N: I LIIIIIIVE! Yes. And I have discovered Swoozie. He is totally my new BFF (not rlly). I've been bogged down lately, but I'm determined now, and I've sort of started actually finishing things as they are assigned, so there you are. **

**Happy Halloween! I turn 18 October 31st! :'3 Goodbye childhood, hello adulthood... *sob***


	17. Rule

Icewater

Chapter 17: Rule

**Disclaimer: I claim a disclaimer. WhaBLOOSH!**

**Dedicated to Chelty-chan (my like-minded fellow baus writer) and Man-chan. Mweeheehee. Enjoy, u guys!**

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

****For mobile device: Switch to Desktop view for best results. Mobile form likes to pretend everything is in bold.****

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Naruto grumbled. Already tired from dealing with unruly mobs of fleeing Pacificans, Naruto now lay down on a plush comforter of seaweed and sand. He sank into it like a rock in water; it had taken quite a bit of effort to manage to convince the manager of the Ambassador's Quarters of Gaara's castle to let him stay the night. Naruto knew if Gaara were here, the stay would cost nothing, but it had taken a promise of a large sum of pearls to sway the manager. Grumbling again, Naruto rolled onto his side, lazily staring at the parched coral walls. He realized this room must usually belong to Oceanican officials; the thought led him to King Jiraiya's murder, which made Naruto flinch.

Jiraiya had been almost like a second Father to Naruto; just as Minato had learned from Jiraiya, Naruto's lessons had been based off of Jiraiya's. Often when Naruto came to Oceanica as a boy, it was to observe a proper government leader in action, and to also put into practice his lessons in diplomacy. His father would drag him into treaty meetings or other such things, and after his father and King Jiraiya had begun suggesting improvements, Naruto would be asked to offer an idea. Looking back on it, both Kings had always led the conversation in a way that usually allowed Naruto to figure out a solution easily, but as he had gotten older it had become less structured and more spontaneous.

He remembered clearly one such meeting: a committee was in session to organize an international celebration of the oldest treaty between Pacifica and Oceanica, and King Minato had brought Naruto along. The unusual thing, of course, was that Sakura had also been brought by her Father. The two young heirs floated beside each other as their Fathers, Queen Tsunade, and other members of the committee argued.

_"I assure you that our own records are just as credible as your own," said one man. Another sighed, rubbing his temple in frustration. "However, the discrepancies are-"_

_"With all due respect," interrupted Queen Tsunade, "I highly doubt that it took place in high summer. Remember, most records suggest that the fish were seasonal, and those particular breeds only appear in our waters near winter."_

_"None of the records agree with what precise species were present during the treaty signing," Minato argued. A committee member huffed in frustration. Naruto stole a glance at Sakura; she was chewing her cheek, a habit of here from when they were younger. _

_"In any case, most records do agree that the sun was brightest on the day it shone," another mermaid from the committee said. "Logically, that would mean high summer-"_

_"You could take it with a grain of sand," countered an Atlantican committee member, his bright blue fin whipping back and forth underneath him. "The bright sun could be symbolism for what the treaty represented. Besides, our recor-"_

_"With all due respect," interrupted a high, clear female voice. Naruto and the others present turned their attention to Sakura. She obviously looked ill at ease with the attention, but nonetheless pressed forward. "The sun is at its highest in high summer, but in Pacifican waters, where the treaty was signed, it's at it's brightest in autumn." The room became silent; Sakura pressed forward. "And the fish mentioned in nearly all the records named migrate between our waters roughly around autumn."_

_All present mulled over the information Sakura had brought up. Naruto looked to King Jiraiya in time to see him grin proudly._

_And Naruto knew why. Sakura was not a genius, but she was brilliant all the same, with an analytical mind that processed information quickly and efficiently, in such a manner that allowed her to solve issues reasonably and skillfully. She thought outside the shell. Naruto knew she would make a fantastic ruler one day._

Now, as he lay on his bed, he wondered if he could ever be like that: a great leader who could use his brain and skills to keep his kingdom prosperous and peaceful.

He hoped so.

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When he was six, Sasuke heard a legend from his mentor, Hatake Kakashi.

They sat in the library, Kakashi on a windowsill belonging to a floor-to-ceiling stained glass window, Sasuke on the fluffy carpet near him. The library was large; he knew the rows of shelves and bookcases well, despite rarely reading any of the materials on them. Sasuke was too young to be interested in the history's of his land.

But legends were right down his aisle.

"Long ago, it was possible to harness the elements," said Sasuke's silver-haired mentor. Sasuke sat by his feet, enraptured. "Men learned to create whirlpools, disperse hurricanes, call upon rain and wind, calm raging fires. Men could create forests and crumble mountains."

"How?" Sasuke asked, eyes wide and awed.

"They had a power," Kakashi explained, "chi that could flow through their bodies. This chi was what allowed them to master the elements."

"How did it work?" Sasuke asked. "How could chi work?"

Kakashi paused, considering the question.

"Well..." he said slowly, "Think of chi like a quill. Say you wanted to control fire." Kakashi watched as Sasuke scrambled to his feet, running across the library floor to the nearest desk. The young Uchiha grabbed an ink flask, multiple slips of parchment, and a large feather before trotting back to his mentor, a horse laiden-down by his pack. Kakashi helped Sasuke, taking the flask and quill from the little boy, before sitting again on the windowsill.

"Say you wanted to control fire," Kakashi said again. The quill is your chi, and let's say that the ink is the element you want to control... In this case, fire." Sasuke watched with interest as Kakashi dipped the tip of the quill into the ink in the flask. "In the past, men would use their chi - the quill - to harness an element - the ink - and do what they would with it." Kakashi slid the feather smoothly across the surface of a slip of parchment. "They could make fire." He drew the Konoha emblem, a small but proud emblem of fire. "They could put fire out." He scratched a line through the flame. "They could combine it with other elements." He drew another flame, then added wind around it, adding in escaping flames for emphasis. "The men who could control these elements were special. They were rare, so now many believe them to be extinct, or part of a silly old tale." Kakashi looked up from the parjment and coolly met Sasuke's gaze. "What do you think?"

Sasuke did not hesitate.

"I think it's real," he said, "And I think I can control elements, too!" Sasuke pushed his arms out in front of him, willing fire to spring forth from his palms.

Nothing happened.

Kakashi laughed softly as Sasuke scrunched his face up in disappointment.

"With time, Sasuke," Kakashi chuckled, patting Sasuke lightly on the head. "Perhaps with time."

A week later, Sasuke summoned a fireball that burned a large portion of the garden he'd been practicing in.

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When Sakura woke, she woke to Ino patting her lightly on the shoulder.

"Come on, come on," Ino whispered hurriedly. "There isn't much time. Get up!"

Sakura made to yawn when the tangled hair in her face swayed from her motion.

She froze.

Pink bordered her vision.

Silently, Sakura flipped the covers on her bed back and began undressing. Ino grabbed a white, flowing gown out of the wardrobe and passed it to Sakura, who slipped into it easily. Ino passed her black slippers, and while Sakura stepped into them, Ino began pulling Sakura's hair back, splitting it in two and braiding them on either side of her head before bringing them together and (with the help of numerous pins) knotting them. Then she grabbed a headpiece with a dark red veil and placed it atop Sakura's head; it covered all of her hair, fell to her mid-back, and effectively shrouded Sakura's hair color.

"Now put on the bracelet," Ino commanded. Sakura grabbed the gift from Sasuke off of the counter by her bed (she had taken it off the night before) and sliding it onto her wrist. The emblem on it shone despite how little light seeped into her room. Ino pulled a ruby necklace out of her pocket - another she assumed the Prince had allowed her to take - and, after lifting the back of Sakura's veil, tied it to the mermaid's neck.

"There," Ino said, smiling. "You look elegant. And like you're still blonde!" Sakura made to grin to her friend, but Ino silenced her with a raised hand. "There isn't much time to explain," she continued. "Just listen."

Sakura's heart sped up.

_**This is probably bad**_, Inner said. Sakura silently agreed.

"The King is making a new declaration. A new law, basically," Ino said. "I don't know about what, but he supposedly needs your consent." At Sakura's startled expression, Ino shook her head. "I can only assume, but..." She took a deep breath. "A King needs verbal consent from no one. He rules his own lands. He would only need your permission if..."

Sakura felt her blood run cold.

"If it involves _MY_ lands," Sakura finished. Ino nodded.

"I believe he wants to make a deal with you of some kind," Ino said. "Again, I could be wrong, but usually we only ask for permission from other countries of we either seek something that belongs to them, or we want something back that's ours."

Sakura's mind was racing. It didn't matter that she had just woken up; dread filled her, and she had a sinking suspicion she knew what the King wanted.

"Do-" Before Sakura could finish her word, there was a light rap on the door. Both girls jolted, Sakura covering her mouth fearfully. Ino made a motion to Sakura ("Shh!") and approached the door.

"The Lady is still preparing herself for Court," Ino said.

"Well, hurry it up," came a lazy, drawling voice through the door. "The King is already there. Court's nearly in session."

Ino's eyes widened and she pulled the door open hurriedly.

"Shikamaru, wait, but it's so early, most nobles won-" She cut off. Sakura rushed to her side. She looked to both sides, but no one was in the hallway.

Huffing, Ino ran a hand through her ponytail before smiling. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but it reassured Sakura nonetheless.

"Right, then," Ino said. "Let's get going!"

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Sakura looked warily up at the King. He sat in his throne, robes arranged neatly around him.

Warning bells rang in her mind, and she did her best to maintain the calm composure her Father had worked so hard for her to grasp. She had no idea if it was working, and in any case, she knew it couldn't intimidate Madara.

What was most unnerving to her was that when she'd strolled through the doors to the court, Ino standing outside in silent support, she'd ambled into a completely empty room. Her footsteps had echoed loudly, and then her eyes had landed on Madara.

"Come," he said, gesturing slightly with his hand.

She came, approaching as close as she dared to his throne (not very), and then dropped in the lowest curtsy she could manage without falling over. She knew that her lip might tremble if she let it, so she focused carefully on keeping as still as possible.

She would not show weakness to this man.

"Rise," he commanded.

She rose.

Light pooled through the windows, gold reflected on the clean, cold floor, and Sakura prayed he wouldn't notice her pink hair.

"I have a request," rumbled Madara, voice low. His calculating eyes flashed red, and it was all Sakura could do not to flinch. "You are aware of the situation with the Hyuga." Without elaboration or pause to see if she was indeed aware of the situation, he pressed forward. "Due to the circumstances, action must be taken. Criminals must be sought, but it is impossible to track enemies should they flee into an inaccessible place."

Her dread increased tenfold.

"I called you here," King Madara said, "To request your permission to hunt down the assassin who attempted to murder Princess Hinata."

Sakura's stomach dropped.

"I-I don't-" she began, but he cut her off.

"Princess Sakura of Oceanica, I am requesting your aid in the search for the merman who sent the attacker. He is also the same man who murdered your Mother and Father."

It slipped out of her mouth before she realized she had thought it.

"Orochimaru."

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**A/N: Wish me luck! Me and my twin are auditioning for pre-area choir in our state! :) Hope you enjoyed the chappie!**

**And yes, I live. I just wanna to to college, that's all. Note to juniors and sophomores in high school: start your applications now. Or at least over summer. If you don't, you will wind up like me. And believe me... You don't want to wind up like me.**

**Review!**


	18. Caught in the Fisherman's Net

Icewater 

_Chapter 18: Caught In the Fisherman's Net_

**Disclaimer: I wish I were Kishi, then I'd be rich!**

_**Dedicated to the lovely** Animelover351, **for always posing questions and being honest! :) Glad ya like the story!**_

_**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**_

******For mobile device: Switch to Desktop view for best results. Mobile form likes to pretend everything is in bold.******

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Sakura clamped her hands over her mouth, mortified.

_My one secret...!_

**_We blew it! _**groaned her Inner.

She saw Madara raise an amused eyebrow.

"You are naive." He paused, chuckling darkly to himself. "But useful."

Sakura said nothing, instead choosing to glare at his feet. She didn't dare look into his eyes; doing so would betray her terror.

_I'm so scared, _she admitted to herself._ I... Now he knows!_

"It _is _a pity you have turned out much like your mother before you."

Sakura bristled. His insult hit home; she met his eyes in time to see them narrow victoriously.

**_He's just egging you on,_** Inner Sakura said. **_He wants to elicit a response!_**

_Two can play at that, though, _Sakura thought back.

Smugly, she smirked.

Madara frowned.

"It is of no importance," he continued dismissively. "The crucial thing is for you to express your approval of sending hunters out to sea."

He stood and stretched his hand out toward her; instinctively, she slid into a defensive stance. He waved his fingers in a flourish, and then a piece of parchment appeared before her, along with a feather. Startled, Sakura reached out and grabbed both, then looked up, both perplexed and suspicious.

Madara waved dismissively.

"Sign it," he said.

Sakura stared blankly at the parchment.

_Now what...?_ she thought, examining the feather. _What do I do with this?_

After a few moments, Sakura shook her head, tossing the items on the ground. They landed, one after the other, first the parchment, then the feather.

_Whatever it is he wants,_ she thought,_ he won't get from me!_

She whirled around and made to leave.

"You're not underwater anymore, little Princess."

Suddenly she felt her body stiffen, and recognized the feel of an alien chakra invading her body. She fought back, spinning hers to clash with it; she struggled painfully to turn around.

"You thought you had the upper hand?" She blinked, and suddenly Madara materialized in front of her. Before she could let out a scream of surprise, his left hand grabbed her chin, yanking it up so he could look into her green eyes with his own.

They flashed a dangerous red, and it was all she could do not to shiver.

"I'll admit, when you used your chi in the tent, I was taken aback." She yanked her chin from his grip, stumbling back a few steps, and he smirked. "But you were rash. It was careless to reveal such a thing..." His own hand glowed a bright gold, then sputtered into a black so deep she felt it pull at her like the deepest parts of the sea pulled sunken ships.

"However, it is useful to me." The chakra dissipated into the air around them, and suddenly breathing was hard. Everything was suddenly heavier; she prayed the newly added weight wouldn't drag the veil off her head as she felt her knees beginning to shake from the effort required to remain standing.

_No!_ she screamed internally. _We can't lose to him!_

**_Of course not,_** replied her Inner hotly, venomously. **_Not to someone like _him!**

Slowly, her knees began to buckle.

_What do we do?_ She was desperate. _If we go to the ground, he can overpower us! It'll all be over!_

**_Fight it!_** her Inner yelled. **_Don't give up!_**

Sakura gritted her teeth and pushed chakra into her leg muscles, pumping them as best she could. It became easier to stand again; she let the chakra in her legs free into the surrounding air, replenishing it just as it left so she would continue to stand.

The air became lighter around her.

But it was taking a lot of work.

She felt her breaking quicken slightly. It did not go unnoticed by the King. He simply stood, arms crossed now, as he watched her struggle against his released chakra. The blackness was thinner in the air, but it was so strong still that it was visible, like a heavy fog.

Her eyes widened.

_Fog!_

Pumping chakra into her hands, she reached forward.

**_We can't keep this up forever,_** her Inner advised. **_We're wasting a lot of chakra!_**

_That's his intention,_ Sakura replied._ Weaken us into submission._

She flexed her fingers.

_Ha!_ She laughed triumphantly inside her head. _Too bad for him!_

Sakura let the chakra slide into the tips of her fingers, then dribbled it into the surrounding air. As this happened, she stroked her arms back and forth, as if she were wading through water.

**_In a way, it's not so different, _**Inner Sakura acknowledged.

Madara's eyes turned red again. To her surprise, they stayed that way. He quickly crossed the distance she'd created between them and grabbed her arms, holding her tightly. She wriggled, but couldn't get free; his grip on her shoulders only seemed to tighten.

_Chakra,_ she realized. _He's holding me with chakra! Just like he immobilized me earlier!_

She let out a yelp.

"You won't win this war," he hissed at her. She glanced into his eyes, unwilling to show how frightened she was.

Cold red met seaweed green.

And then his eyes spun, and with them, the room.

Sakura tumbled to the ground.

"Now," Madara said. "Now you wi-"

The doors slammed open.

Sasuke walked in quickly, looking around. At least, that's what she thought; her vision was blurry, the world spinning around her in a dizzying manner. A blob that appeared to be Sasuke crouched down to her level, lifted her up.

"Are you all right?"

No; that was not Sasuke.

It was Itachi.

"Lady Sakura!"

Suddenly Ino was there, lifting her from Itachi's arms.

"How are you today, Father?" Itachi asked Madara.

_He's not your Father, _Sakura felt like saying. She tried to open her mouth, but a wave of nausea washed over her, and she cringed instead.

"Leave me," Madara said. "She is of no use today."

Sakura felt her body grow colder at Madara's words.

And yet, just as Itachi closed the double doors behind them, Sakura managed to glance backward in time to see Madara lifting the items she'd thrown on the ground. Bathed in the golden light streaming through the windows, Madara tipped his head back and let out a howlish laughter. 

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"He _WHAT?_"

Ino looked on in horror. Sakura nodded, dusting off another book from the library. Light streamed happily through the open windows, and birds chirped outside.

"That... Th-That..." Ino gulped. "And you said he tried to...?"

"Kill me," Sakura breathed softly. She closed the book she'd just opened. Then she stared out of one of the open windows. "He tried to kill me."

"Tried," Ino repeated. "How do you know he... Wanted to take your life?"

Sakura turned and glanced at her friend, mustering a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry for now," she told Ino.

**_We _****SHOULD****_ worry, _**her Inner replied.

Sakura sighed inwardly.

_Look, it's not like Ino could help,_ she rationalized. _Besides, I don't want to involve her too much._

She glanced over at her friend, who was bushing herself dusting the library yet again.

_I don't want to put Ino in danger._

Her Inner scoffed.

**_Then you shouldn't have talked to her, _**she said.

Sakura inwardly winced. 

_"I-I can explain," Sakura automatically responded._

_For a few agonizing moments, there was dead silence._

_And then Ino screamed._

_"Shhhh!" Sakura shushed Ino hurriedly._

_"But-But you just-"_

_"I can explain!" Sakura said quickly. "Just... Let me... Please." Her voice became a whisper. "Please let me explain..."_

_Ino calmed down, taking a deep breath._

_"Okay," said the blonde, "Shoot."_

_Sakura took a deep breath herself._

_"It starts with a legend where I come from..." she began._

_It just slipped out!_ she protested. _A-And anyway, it doesn't matter now, I-_

**_Ya got _****that****_ right, _**muttered her Inner darkly.

_Hey!_

**Look,** said Inner Sakura pointedly,**_ I'm gonna be frank with you. He said we were not useful. _**She paused for emphasis, and when Sakura began to sputter, she cut her off.

**_That means we're disposable. Our life's on the line._**

Sakura frowned, crossing her arms as she conceded to her Inner self.

"Sakura?"

Green eyes shot open to meet concerned blue ones. Ino held a stack of books in her arms, her head tilted to the side as she regarded Sakura worriedly.

"Are you all right?"

Smiling helplessly, Sakura shook her head.

"Orochimaru's net is full, but the humans is empty."

"I'm a fool," she whispered to herself. A breeze rattled trough the open windows, whirling papers around as the breath of her words caught in the wind and drifted swiftly away, into the gardens and into the great expanse of sky above and ocean below.

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**A/N: Dun-dun-DUUUUUUN! Next chapter, folks, we'll find out what Sakura meant about Sasuke's ship! :P**

**I got a dog! His name's Iggy. If you mixed Toto with a Yorkie, you'd get Iggy. He's this cute hybrid that's maybe a foot tall and a foot and a half long. He's from the Barrio (aka Mexican ghetto! XD) and he's already settled into our family!**

**And thanks for your well-wishes on the audition, everyone! Wish me luck again, because I'm going on to the final round, and I need all the help I can get!**

**On a side note, sorry for the pitsy updates. I know. I'm sorry. I'm awful. I'm also a student preparing for college. So. Have pity. Leave a review. If you do, I'll PM you magical sparkly stars! :)**

**Check out my collab with Chelty-chan also, chapter 4's up! :D it's on her account, so look for it there.**

**Anyways...**

**Happy New Years, and welcome to the party called 2013! :D**


	19. The Hunt Begins

Icewater

Chapter 19: The Hunt Begins

**Disclaimer: Derp.**

**Thank you, **_Penguin__**. **_**I love you, too. Sorry. :(**

**Dedicated to** _Whizzbangangel_. **:)** **Lookie, lookie, a summary-thus-far paragraph! XD**

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**For mobile device, switch to desktop view. Mobile format likes to pretend everything's in bold.**

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After numerous complaints of confusion/difficulty remembering everything that's happened thus far, I have decided to include a summary of what's happened. I'll try to do that for each chapter. But, if i forget, oh well XD (I'll try not to forget!)

**Summary-thus-far:**

Sakura, Princess of Oceanica, is an adventurous, curious young mermaid. Her Arctician Mother was killed when she was young. After her Father is murdered by what appears to be a servant of Orochimaru, she and Naruto, Prince of Atlantica, flee to the Outwaters, the dreary borderlands between underwater kingdoms. There, they come across the Ice Ridges. At night, Sakura sees exploding stars and, after surfacing to investigate, sees Sasuke, the human Prince of Konoha. She flees, but in the morning brings Naruto to see Sasuke's ship. The ship crashes in the Ice Ridges, and Sakura and Naruto help lead the sailors and the Prince back to land. Sakura discovers that she cannot speak above-water. She also realizes that her deceased Mother fell in love with a previous ruler of Konoha; mortified, she goes to the Sea Witch Chiyo, the last surviving Arctician, and trades her pink hair for legs in order to enact revenge. After spending time in Konoha, Sakura falls in love with the Prince, Sasuke. Chiyo warns Sakura not to trust a man named Madara. Meanwhile, Naruto also trades his fins for legs, and saves the Hyuuga Princess Hinata from bandits. Later, however, his Inner Demon takes over when he fights off the man who killed Sakura's father. During this battle, Hinata is wounded. Horrified by his Demon form, the Hyuuga chase him off into the ocean, and he is unsuccessful at bringing Sakura back. Gaara is killed by Orochimaru's forces in Pacifica, but Chiyo gives her life to restore his; she also extends Sakura's time as a human by four days, and redirects Sakura's lineage through her Atlantican side instead of her Arctician so she can gain a Siren voice (above-water voice). Queen Kushina of Atlantica prepares for battle against Orochimaru, who has taken control of Oceanica. Sakura discovers the King of Konoha is Madara, and that he is neither Sasuke's nor Itachi's real Father. The servant assigned to wait on Sakura, Ino, becomes aware of Sakura's true identity; together, she and Sakura learn that merfolk and humans share the same ancestors. Sakura is summoned to sign a document for King Madara, but Sakura does not know how to use paper and ink, and instead flings it to the ground in opposition. Still, Madara has guards placed on the tower opposite her room to keep watch over her. Sasuke also has a connection to Orochimaru, and an old acquaintance Karin claims he should return to "Taka." Sakura wonders just what kind of mess she's gotten herself into as the clock ticks; she has less than three days before she reverts to mermaid form.

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Sasuke knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Frowning, he reached forward and tried to turn the handle.

It was wide open; the knob turning willingly, and he pushed the door as his frown deepened to a scowl.

_She's too trusting_, he thought. Then, after another moment, _So am I, letting her in with no questions asked_. Of course, she couldn't answer in any case, but even so, he should have tried to glean more information out of her than he'd received.

But she reminded him of the mermaid. Different hair, same eyes. It made him wonder.

She'd been here for four days, and he knew about as much as he had the first day he'd found her splashing in the waves, for all the world looking as frail as the piece of driftwood she'd pointed to. It was becoming increasingly dangerous, for the both of them. For some reason, Orochimaru wanted him to abandon the girl to drown in the ocean, and that _MAN_ - Sasuke wouldn't desecrate his real Father's memory, even though Itachi might - also had his eye on the girl, for whatever reason.

The door swung closed behind him. Black hair was brushed out of his face by his right hand, black eyes trained towards the window. The curtains were deceivingly elaborate, with intricate designing that would cost a fortune, but was only noticeable upon close inspection; at a first glance, they appeared simple, a mere touch of elegance rather than extravagance.

Just like everything else within the castle walls. Hidden meaning within hidden meaning.

_At least she knows to keep the curtains closed_, he thought.

A quick glance around the bed chambers proved that the girl was not there.

Huffing, he turned on his heel to look over the room a second time, his cape swirling behind him in his quick movements, brown boots. He walked around, inspecting what he could, but found nothing suspicious.

It wasn't until he (after the briefest of hesitations) lifted her pillow that he found anything of remote interest.

A book was tucked away underneath, an old thing that he deduced belonged to the old library by the gardens. It was dog-eared (no doubt by either the girl or her current handmaiden) to an old Konoha fable. He skimmed it, and as it sunk in his scowl only deepened.

_Why is she researching the Kyuubi demon?_ he asked himself. He had no answer, and the girl couldn't give him a verbal one. He re-read the story carefully; Neji Hyuuga's words ghosted through his mind.

_"The only thing I could think at the time was that the Legendary Kyuubi had risen out of the oceans to kill us all."_

And it dawned on him.

_She knows_.

He put the book down, covered it again, and exited the room swiftly.

For some reason, he was _furious_.

He knew his eyes were a swirling red, but he didn't care.

What did she have to do with it?

He had no answer, and it only fueled his rage.

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Sakura and Ino were stunned when the library doors slammed open. They were even more surprised to see that it was Prince Sasuke, glowering, eyes flashing red, who had opened them.

Before Sakura had a chance to react, he had slammed the doors shut behind him again and practically flew across the room to her. He towered over her as he snatched her wrist, yanking her up from her comfortable sitting position into a halfway-standing, halfway-kneeling one. The small stack of papers she had been sifting through slid from her gown and flopped to the ground.

"P-Prince Sasuke-" Ino tried to interject, but he silenced her with a glare.

"_You knew._" His words were laced with some unspoken threat, and Sakura felt herself go cold, in spite of her better judgement.

She did not answer. She didn't know what the question was.

His next words were directed at Ino, but his eyes never left Sakura's.

"You _BOTH_ knew."

It was only a fraction of a moment's hesitation on her part, but it was enough - he roughly pulled Sakura to a completely upright position, and began dragging her away. She sent a perplexed look to Ino, who followed behind. Sakura had no doubt her friend was probably as confused as she was, but the blonde hid it well: she stuck her chin up just a tad higher than usual and walked with a straight back, taking long, purposeful strides, easily keeping up with Sasuke's hurried pace.

"Where are we going?" Ino asked.

Sasuke did not answer immediately. Sakura realized he must have felt her pulse quickening because of their breakneck pace (partially because of it, anyway), and he slowed down slightly.

"The Forest."

Ino nodded.

"That's probably for the best." She shot Sakura a meaningful look.

Sakura understood.

_He knows_.

_**Don't jump to conclusions!**_ snapped Inner.

_Why else wou-_

**_Has he called you Sakura?_**asked her Inner self. **_Unless he shows that he knows for certain, he doesn't know._**

After a moments thought, Sakura agreed with her Inner. She caught Ino's eye as they neared the tree Sasuke and she had clambered over nights ago.

Had it been a night ago? Or two, or three? She couldn't recall. Yes, it had to have been the night before; how else could she remember it so vividly? But she couldn't be certain. Time passed in a blur in Konoha. Whereas in the ocean, days were measured by the Sun's position, the existence of fire above-water allowed for waking hours to be elongated, eradicated, even. Sakura had no idea that time could become so skewed when the world had so much more meaning - and so much more danger.

She presently realized they were nearing the forest. Quietly, inconspicuously, they slipped between the old trees, padded across crinkling leaves and moist forest dirt, until the foliage completely hid them from the outside world, enclosing them in such a way that even the sky was blocked from view; patches of sunlight dotted the ground, like pearls in a dark cave.

They continued until they reached - as she had suspected - the waterfall. It was only when they stood near the rapids (which were more like a bubbling brook compared to some underwater currents Sakura had navigated) that Sasuke released her hand. He wheeled around, took two steps back from them, crossed his arms, and spoke.

"You know Princess Sakura."

Both she and Ino tensed, despite themselves.

"I also know my Father wants something from you." He directed this at Sakura. "I don't know what. But I know why he wants to get rid of you." His eyes turned to Ino. "And you. You know too much."

Ino moved to speak, but Sasuke continued.

"The merman is the Kyuubi demon. He was the one involved in the Hyuuga incident."

Sakura felt her blood freeze over. It was all she could do to keep her hands from nervously reaching up to play with her headdress.

She couldn't afford to let Sasuke see her. Not yet. _Not yet_.

"Kyuubi?" Ino was a fluid liar.

But Sakura realized it as soon as it happened.

Sasuke's eyes flashed red, and Ino's "perplexed" (and slightly fearful) expression slipped for a moment.

Sakura saw pure, unbridled panic. It was quickly masked, but too late.

Sasuke had seen it just as she had.

"You're not the only liar, Ino." He turned his red gaze on Sakura. "But this one can't speak."

Were his eyes spinning? Sakura looked away.

"Or can you?"

She didn't flinch. She met his gaze again, this time unwaveringly. His eyes were spinning. She was sure of it.

_I can't_, she supplied mentally. _I alone could never speak. My Mother saw to that. The voice I have is a gift from a sea witch._

A half-truth, in a way, but a truth nonetheless. If she could convince herself of it, she might be able to convince Sasuke of it.

**_Believe it_**, her Inner said. **Believe it!**

Sakura forced herself to ignore her surroundings as they began to spin; she let her mind run away with the idea that her voice was not her own - that she had no voice, or none that could be used above water.

_I believe those words_, she thought fiercely._ I believe those words!_

After what felt like an eternity, his eyes died down to cool black.

Relief courses through her. She was wobbly on her feet; but Sasuke stepped forward and reached out, steadying her while he held her shoulders. Despite that he'd just made her world spin, his touch comforted her. His hands were not as cold as he was acting.

He was only doing his duty as a Prince: trying to determine if she posed a threat to his kingdom. She respected that.

"The Hyuuga's are suspicious. If they managed to figure it out, so did the King."

Again, venom words directed at the King. Madara. His name was almost like a poison itself, the way it dripped off the tongue when spoken, like death poured from a vial. Even in thinking it, she could not suppress a shudder. Sakura closed her eyes, blissfully allowing herself a moment to readjust to the solid, no-longer-whirling-red world. She breathed in before taking in the sight of Sasuke, arms unconsciously drawing her closer to him, turning his attention from glaring at herself to glaring at Ino.

"He's dangerous. He will kill you if he thinks it will bring him greater power." Sakura nearly flinched at the words.

_Just like Orochimaru, then_, she thought._ He killed both my parents to advance himself_. The thought alarmed her._ Killed to advance... Greater power... Not his real F-_

"I know you know something I don't." He released her, watched her for a moment to make sure she was steady on her feet; then he turned around. "But don't think it doesn't go both ways."

He disappeared into the shadows of the forest without so much as a glance over his shoulder.

Sakura felt her lip tremble. Her last train of thought was forgotten in the new realization that plagued her.

_He doesn't trust me._

_**Well, what did you expect?**_ her Inner quipped. _**Trust is either mutual, or nonexistent. He's too cautious to be blind about that. So are we, for that matter.**_

Still, Sakura couldn't shake the slight pang she'd felt when he'd spoken those words.

_If only I had spoken_, she lamented. _Maybe then... Maybe then-_

**_No more doubts,_** interrupted her Inner. **_If Sasuke knew, Madara could figure it out. We don't know if those eyes can turn against each other, but its best to assume they can. Now is not the time to be speaking our secrets aloud. Even to Sasuke._**

Sakura silently agreed.

"Let's go back," Ino said, interjecting into Sakura's internal conversation. "Walking into the forest is suspicious. Staying for too long is even moreso."

Sakura nodded, unintentionally smoothing the veil on her head; they hurried back.

In order to avoid being seen, they climbed over the tree Sasuke had shown her when they had snuck outside to see the waterfall. As soon as they got there, they noticed a change. Hyuuga's were swarming about like bees, purposeful steps taking them hither and thither throughout the castle; the chefs in the kitchens were busy, Ino noted after swiping rolls for them to eat; and servants were rushing to and fro, hurrying about attending to duties and requests.

"What's going on?" Ino called out to a friend. Sakura recognized him as the sailor with the spiky ponytail. His intelligent eyes found hers. They were so piercing, and Sakura felt as though he knew, despite the veil, who she was, why she was here. She was the first to look away, focusing on the back of Ino's blonde head instead.

"Ugh..." The boy groaned. Although he held a long roll of parchment, he held it carelessly; it was rumpled already from mishandling, and when he again spoke, he let it fall from his hands altogether. "Stuff."

Ino placed her hands on her hips.

"Shikamaru," she said reprimandingly. "Pick up the scroll and tell me whats going on."

He let out a great sigh before doing as instructed. He did not glance down at the parchment to see if it had been dirtied.

"Fine," he mumbled. "The Hyuuga girl's up."

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Battle.

Bloody, vicious, deadly.

And Kushina, fighting all alone, against a deadly snake.

Minato struggled in vain against his bonds. The chains bound him roughly in place. He was hungry, and deprived of water. His skin was as parched as his lips. The cold of the glaciers seeped into the room - dungeon, really - he was being held in.

He had been captured, but not killed. Not yet.

He didn't know Orochimaru's reasons. He had been brought before the man, bound in the same chains he wore now, in the ruins of the kingdom of Arcticia. The glacier structures were abandoned still; the palace was still damaged from Orochimaru's assault. It was as if the snake wanted to preserve the sick memory of the destruction he had singlehandedly created. But even so, the grandeur and majesty of the once-flourishing kingdom was still ever-present, from the way the clear crystal palace walls shone to the whispers of magic that constantly hummed through the walls and floors and ceilings. It was a cold, terrible, beautiful place, a glorious and haunting memory of the past.

Minato had visited Arcticia once as a child. He remembered it well: the high, crystal towers and buildings, the vibrant panes they called windows allowing sunlight to filter through in dazzling colors and designs, the glare of moonlight reflecting off of the icy glacier encasing around the palace. He had been astounded that magic had been able to carve the bottom of the glacier into the protective, seemingly impenetrable dome surrounding the palace, acting as its walls. The Queen and King were gracious and pleasant, and a tad headstrong, and intellectuals who indulged all.

It was a month later that it lay in ruins.

The sound of ice grating against ice brought his attention to the present. Slowly, a figure came down towards him, slithering and lightning fast.

"Why, hello, King of Atlantica," hissed the figure. His tongue licked his dark lips, eyes yellow, skin impossibly pale and sunken in.

"Orochimaru," Minato replied. He infused the name with disgust.

Orochimaru noticed. His grin grew wider.

"Tsk, Tsk," he clicked, swimming closer to the bound merman. Minato held his chin high. Despite his imprisonment, he knew who the better man was. "I'm not here to quarrel. I just want answers."

Minato's unwavering blue gaze met Orochimaru's amused yellow one.

"I know nothing that I would deem worthy enough for your ears."

Orochimaru shrugged his shoulders.

"Then perhaps I should indulge you more." Orochimaru approached Minato and ran his finger almost lovingly along the chains binding him. "You see, the other day, the Prince we captured a few days ago - the Pacifican one - died."

Minato felt his heart sink. Gaara had been a young but incredibly wise and capable Prince; ruling with his siblings at his side, Minato had hoped that both his and Gaara's kingdoms would one day share strong bonds, along with Oceanica, because of Naruto's relationships with Gaara and Sakura.

But now, it seemed, that would be impossible.

"You killed him." He simply stated the truth; Orochimaru had sugar-coated it, but it was pretty obvious to him.

Orochimaru grinned, teeth an unnatural white against his dreary pale skin, reflecting the eery colors of the Arctician crystals.

"But two days ago, his body vanished." He waved his hand in front of him, and Minato recognized sorcery; Orochimaru summoned what appeared to be a white seaweed scroll, and read from it.

"To all parties concerned, an alliance has been formed between all underwater nations to seek and destroy the unright King of Oceanica." Orochimaru glanced up at Minato. "Do you know of this?"

He hadn't heard of it before, but he did not answer; Orochimaru did not deserve an answer.

The snake-like merman continued to read.

"In addition, human aid in this process has been approved." Orochimaru snapped the scroll closed, snapped his fingers, and it was gone in a poof of smoke. "Tell me what you know of this," Orochimaru repeated.

Minato glared at him in response.

The snake smirked, laughed, and raised his index finger. It glowed a deep green, then darkened to dull gray.

Minato steeled himself.

"Then that means this was created by your son and Tsunade's spawn," Orochimaru said, "And that silly human king plans on taking advantage of their naiivety to take control of the oceans." Orochimaru swirled his finger in the water around him; the gray glow picked up bubbles and slowly gained circular trails from its movement. "He doesn't care who he kills. As soon as those hunters reach a Merfolk land, they'll destroy it." He grinned. "How suitable, that Sakura should seal the same fate for all underwater kingdoms as her Mother did Arcticia's."

And the snake touched the swirling glow to Minato's chains.

"But I bet I can do it faster than any of them. Let's see how long Atlantica's forces can hold me off."

The trails erupted into streaks of power, cutting through the water and bouncing of the crystals to slice at Minato; the chains burned, and the heat from the glow had nowhere to go but to Minato's bound limbs.

All he could do was writhe and think of his son and wife.

And hope they would fare better than he.

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**A/N: Simon Carrington is amazing. Just saying.**

**On a side note, I feel obliged to tell you all that my and Penguin's senior recital went on stupenderifically. I messed up twice, but who cares? Only me. Exactly! Thanks, all, for your support! I'm glad you all enjoy the story! **

**On another side note, isn't it fantastic to start off Spring Break with terrible sickness? Oh, woe is me. Alas, 'tis life. I hope you all have a wonderful Spring Break, too!**

**And I know I said we'd find out about the boat, but then I realized I'd skipped over this little Minato scene, which is actually kinda (very) important. So. Yeah. Next time.**

**Sakura's only got two days left once the sun sets! Le ghasp! What could possibly transpire during 48 hours?**

**Everything else left to this story.**

**And guys, I am conflicted. I got into a really good music program (one of the best in the States) but I for no scholarship. I have a small voice, though, so I know for a fact I won't make it farther than undergraduate, even if I tried. My point is, should I bother? Or should I switch my major to Psychology? I've also always hoped to become a doctor until last year, when I began wondering if I wanted to pursue music. So. Gimme your opinion, folks. (And no, this is in no way a ploy to make you guys review. I wouldn't do that. Honest.)**

**So anywho...**

**See ya next time! Review and watch, please!**


	20. Washed Clear

Icewater

Chapter 20: Washed Clear

**Disclaimer: Graduation in two and a half months, baby. Shannaro!**

_**Dedicated to **_Lyiem**,****_whose review literally brought some light to my day :) *throws more stars at you* You. Are. AWESOME!_**

**_Also to_**xxxFlamingWingsxxx_** because YOUR REVIEW WAS SO AMAZING XD I wish I could have such brilliant, witty, funny -yet still relevant!- insights! :3 Bla-whoosh! An update for you~~~!**_

**Thanks for reading! Enjoy!**

**For mobile device, switch to desktop view. Mobile format likes to pretend everything's in bold.**

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**Summary-thus-far:**

**Sakura, Princess of Oceanica, is an adventurous, curious young mermaid. Her Arctician Mother was killed when she was young. After her Father is murdered by what appears to be a servant of Orochimaru, she and Naruto, Prince of Atlantica, flee to the Outwaters, the dreary borderlands between underwater kingdoms. There, they come across the Ice Ridges. At night, Sakura sees exploding stars and, after surfacing to investigate, sees Sasuke, the human Prince of Konoha. She flees, but in the morning brings Naruto to see Sasuke's ship. The ship crashes in the Ice Ridges, and Sakura and Naruto help lead the sailors and the Prince back to land. Sakura discovers that she cannot speak above-water. She also realizes that her deceased Mother fell in love with a previous ruler of Konoha; mortified, she goes to the Sea Witch Chiyo, the last surviving Arctician, and trades her pink hair for legs in order to enact revenge. After spending time in Konoha, Sakura falls in love with the Prince, Sasuke. Chiyo warns Sakura not to trust a man named Madara. Meanwhile, Naruto also trades his fins for legs, and saves the Hyuuga Princess Hinata from bandits. Later, however, his Inner Demon takes over when he fights off the man who killed Sakura's father. During this battle, Hinata is wounded. Horrified by his Demon form, the Hyuuga chase him off into the ocean, and he is unsuccessful at bringing Sakura back. Gaara is killed by Orochimaru's forces in Pacifica, but Chiyo gives her life to restore his; she also extends Sakura's time as a human by four days, and redirects Sakura's lineage through her Atlantican side instead of her Arctician so she can gain a Siren voice (above-water voice). Queen Kushina of Atlantica prepares for battle against Orochimaru, who has taken control of Oceanica. Sakura discovers the King of Konoha is Madara, and that he is neither Sasuke's nor Itachi's real Father. The servant assigned to wait on Sakura, Ino, becomes aware of Sakura's true identity; together, she and Sakura learn that merfolk and humans share the same ancestors. Sakura is summoned to sign a document for King Madara, but Sakura does not know how to use paper and ink, and instead flings it to the ground in opposition. Still, Madara has guards placed on the tower opposite her room to keep watch over her. Sasuke also has a connection to Orochimaru, and an old acquaintance Karin claims he should return to "Taka." He later snoops around Sakura's room and discovers that she has been researching the Kyuubi. Furious that she is keeping secrets from him, Sasuke seeks her and Ino out in the library and brings them to the waterfall, where he reveals that Madara wishes to dispose of both of them. Sakura manages to keep her Siren voice and pink hair a secret, but Sasuke voices that he mistrusts her, and that he, too, has secrets. She is hurt by this revelation, but resolves to press forward nonetheless - just in time for Shikamaru to inform her and Ino that Princess Hinata has awakened. Below the ocean, past the Ice Ridges, King Minato is being held prisoner by Orochimaru. A mysterious message reveals that King Madara intends to destroy all merfolk civilizations, and Orochimaru tortures Minato for information. The snake man claims that Sakura and Naruto are the cause of the message, and tells Minato he will crush Atlantica and Queen Kushina. The clock is ticking; after tonight, Sakura will have only 2 days left before she reverts to her mermaid form. And with two worlds about to violently clash, Sakura's got her hands full. Will she keep her lips sealed, or can she use her newfound Siren voice to somehow bring about peace?**

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The first thing Sakura noticed about her was that she was nervous.

And fidgety.

Princess Hinata stood, clinging tightly to her cousin's arm, in the middle of the Court. Even though she was still recovering - Sakura was horrified that she was on her feet, what with the damage that had been inflicted upon her - she was still stunning in a shimmering golden dress that fell like a waterfall about her, and sparkled like the Ice Ridges in sunlight. Her hair was decorated with rare pearls and glittering jewels ("Rubies," Ino had murmured in her ear before retreating to the walls to watch simently) and fell freely about her. Sakura felt a wave of envy, in spite of herself.

_She's beautiful._

Her Inner snorted.

**_She's about to keel over!_** it replied.**_ She's in no condition to be up and about yet._**

_That's why it's even more amazing!_ Sakura had to swallow a lump that began to rise in her throat and blink back tears._ She's so committed to her duty... _

Then she remembered her resolve to see things through. Madara sat in his throne, observing her with interest. His blue and golden robes were splayed about him, pooling at his feet and on either side of his throne. But his red eyes were trained on her form.

She clenched her fists. She would not show weakness.

She bit back her envy and instead put a deceptive smile on her face, put on an air of vapid giddiness. She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at the Princess' cousin, felt satisfaction well up within her when he turned the lightest shade of pink, suppressed her feelings, and approached them. Ino, seeing this, also came to stand beside Sakura, head bowed low to show respect.

Sakura herself curtsied as low as she could, then waited until given permission to look up.

"P-Please, rise," said a melodious voice. It reminded her of the chimes she'd heard when she and Sasuke had entered the bakery on the tour of Konoha - soft, beautiful sounds that floated through the air, settled beautifully into ones ears.

Sakura thought it was oddly fitting, for such a beautiful Princess to possess such a melodious voice.

Green eyes met pearl. Princess Hinata smiled tenderly, shyly, and Sakura smiled politely back. The Hyuuga girl's eyes glittered in the light filtering through the windows, casting an ethereal glow about her. Sakura wondered whether the painter Sai would be able to capture such a beauty, such an amazing essence, despite his skill as an artist.

But he was painting away, leaning against a pillar, eyes glancing up at her and Princess Hinata, then down again at his work. His many brushes and quills and - she wasn't sure of the name of these - jars littered the floor around him, a rainbow of artwork sitting in the middle of the sunlight.

He could probably never capture Princess Hinata's vibrance, but Sakura had no doubt that he could get close.

"May I introduce myself?" After Hinata's nod, Ino continued. "My name is Yamanaka Ino, a long-time servant and grounds keeper of Konoha and it's royalty." She turned her head to Sakura, who bowed her head quickly. "This is my charge. You've no doubt heard about the young woman rescued from a shipwreck who the King introduced to the court." Ino grinned at Sakura. "This is her."

Princess Hinata's smile made Sakura return one of equal kind.

"How do you do, Lady Ino, Lady...?" The Princess trailed off.

Inwardly, Sakura's heart leapt.

_I'd forgotten nobody knew my name,_ Sakura thought. _Now what?_

_**Ino can handle it,**_assured her Inner. _**She's a smooth liar, remember?**_

_Lying for me._ Sakura felt a twinge of guilt, but knowing Madara was watching her made her repress it.

She could have no regrets, and she could make no mistakes.

Not now.

"Lady Momoiro," said Ino.

"Lady Momoiro," repeated Princess Hinata. "It is an honor and pleasure to meet the both of you." She turned her attention to her cousin. "Lord Neji, if you would."

Her cousin nodded.

"I am Lord Hyuuga Neji, the Princess Hinata's first cousin." He met Sakura's eyes for the briefest of moments before looking away again. "It is my sincerest joy to meet such-" he again glanced at Sakura before looking away, much to her amusement, with a light blush "-lovely maidens as yourselves."

Ino cooed frivolously, and Sakura allowed herself a genuine grin of amusement.

_Does he like me?_ she wondered. Then,_ No, of course not. Politics. It's all an act._ Red eyes flashes in her mind. _And my mask's the best._

**_Our net is empty,_** added her Inner.

_Indeed it is_, Sakura replied. _But not for much longer._

They made small talk for some time. Or, rather, Ino did all the talking; Sakura was still pretending she could not speak. Just because Madara knew the truth did not mean the entire Court needed to know - Sakura had enough to deal with.

A smooth, low voice interrupted the flow of conversation.

"Princess Hinata, your Father is searching for you."

All eyes fell on Lord Itachi.

"Ah." Hinata's squeak was no less melodious than her speaking voice. She met her cousin's eyes before curtsying to Sakura and Ino while Neji bowed. "It was a pleasure speaking with the two of you." Her grin was sincere. "I must take my leave now."

Sakura and Ino curtsied low to the Princess as she and her cousin headed towards the other side of the Court.

"Lord Itachi!" Ino said, pulling out of her curtsy. Sakura followed suit. "How do you do?"

"Well," he replied simply. He looked down at Sakura. "I trust that both of you ladies are in good health?"

Ino replied that they were.

Itachi nodded.

"Excellent." He turned and began walking towards the nearest window, and without allowing for even a second of hesitation, Sakura followed him.

"A lovely evening," Itachi said softly, peering outside. The glow of the sunset was golden, spiraling like powder through the glass windows and onto the hard floor. "An ideal time for sailing."

Sakura stiffened.

_How-?!_

His eyes met hers and flashed red.

And, taken unawares, Sakura hardly registered Ino reaching out to steady her.

Images swirled in her mind.

_Of blood spattered across the ground, a crown toppled sideways beside a body, of dark laughter she'd heard before. _

_She saw a young boy laughing freely, little legs pumping furiously, running ahead into the forest, heading towards the waterfall. _

_Then the little boy, shocked, kneeling beside the body, hand clenched around the wrist, as if hoping to feel a sign of life, tears streaming down his face. She thought she felt tears graze her own cheeks, but before she could reach up to feel them with her palms, she was out by the ocean, and the moon was high and orange and eery, and the night was so dark, and someone was talking to her in hushed tones, promising rebellion, rebellion, if only she would join their ranks..._

_Then she was in the gardens, the sun high, as Madara - not Madara, though, he was too familiar, too much like family - an uncle, much worse than a Father - strolled down a red carpet, heading towards a religious leader with a tall hat in whose palms rested the crown. It was clean now, and shining brilliantly in the light, but she knew better. The blood had crusted and been scraped off, but she glanced to her side and saw Sasuke's face reflecting her - his, Sakura realized; these were not her memories -his own inner emotion of fury, barely contained horror and anger. That was not his crown. Not his, never had been, and he would be damned before he took the throne after the blood had been spilt. In a fit of rage, he stomped out after the coronation, relinquished his princeship, and turned away. The betrayal on Sasuke's face nearly made him stop - but no, this had to be done. He had to leave Konoha, and his only way out of the castle was like this._

_He went off in search of the man who had promised him revenge. Pein._

_But then, of course it had been a trap. It always was. He was caught again in a web. And this time, Sasuke had been trapped in it. Orochimaru licked his lips, broke away from the underground "rebellion" Pein was organizing, and then he took Sasuke with him, corrupted him, stole him for two years, took him into the ocean, trained him. It was all Itachi could do, to quietly steal away Pein's influence in Akatsuki, in the rebellion, and send him into the sea after Orochimaru. Itachi had decided on revenge, and he would have it._

_Then, Sakura saw a different image: Sasuke, drenched in ocean water, tossing his sword aside, walking carefully into his brother's outstretched arms. He had returned, but he had changed. She saw glimpses of him - of his newfound sparring prowess, a colder, steelier attitude, but just as hot-blooded, just as quick-thinking as he always had been._

_But his fire was not warm anymore. It was black. Black and cold, like the deepest reaches of the ocean. If he let it run rampant, it could consume everything._

_"Why did you come back?" They were sitting by the waterfall. Sasuke did not turn to look at his brother, just continued to watch the water crash down._

_"He wanted me to become like HIM."_

_Itachi knew "Him" was not Orochimaru._

_And then, the Court. Sasuke being called to talk to their Uncle, the King, talking in hushed tones. Itachi watched with concern, shook his head, but seemed finally to agree._

_And then- watching from the rooftop, as the morning brought Sasuke home on a piece of driftwood led by pink and yellow. His brother, smirking - at a mermaid? - pushing the pink-haired creature under the water, interacting willingly, and Itachi saw something he had thought was gone forever: Sasuke, not of now, but from before everything had gone wrong. Innocent, simple, childish behavior, and something infinitely more: Happiness, and purity, and reprieve._

_The girl in the gypsy outfit had the same effect._

_He despised her at first. She brought out in Sasuke something Itachi once had been able to, but now never would. He was jealous. But hopeful. She could change him, bring his little brother back._

_Then he'd rescued her from his Uncle's fog, opened the doors to the Court to find her bathed in golden light, struggling, fighting back, even while her world spun with his Uncle's red eyes._

_He helped her, and saw her for the first time. _Really_ saw her._

_Green eyes._

_Green eyes, and in the sunlight... Pink hair._

The girl in the gypsy outfit was the mermaid.

_And everything had fallen into place._

And suddenly, Sakura was wrenched from the images, from the nostalgic memories Itachi had somehow shared with her, and reality was back. Ino was holding her tightly, desperately, eyes wide and blue, full of concern and fright.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

Sakura nodded, and the world stopped reeling.

Itachi leaned in close to her, his breath tickling her neck, and spoke softly to her.

"You never did tell me your name."

"S-Sakura," she breathed, just as Ino said, "Momoiro."

Itachi's lips twitched upwards, as if he might smile, but he didn't. He bowed to her after Ino had relinquished hold of her.

"I trust you, Lady Momoiro," he said after rising. He nodded to Ino. "Lady Ino." And then he bid them farewell, and turned back into the Court.

Sakura slowly turned around to face the throne.

How had she not seen it before?

She had her suspicions, of course, but now that she _knew_, it was almost _painfully_ obvious...

"I think it's time to retire, my Lady." Ino's words were short, clipped, and Sakura heard the stress behind them. She was wracked with guilt again, but repressed it. She nodded to the blonde girl, and they exited the Court.

Just as they left, Sakura glanced back at the throne.

The King was wearing the crown he'd stolen from his brother, the brother he'd murdered.

_He's not Madara_, she thought._ He isn't Fugaku, either. _

Uchiha Madara had been the first King of Konoha.

Uchiha Fugaku had been Itachi's and Sasuke's Father.

But Uchiha Obito was neither of these men.

With that thought, Sakura wheeled around and followed Ino back to her room.

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"You're kidding."

Sakura shook her head.

"No," she replied, yanking the window open. She glared into the setting sunlight streaming through her window, days of white and orange and good that hindered her vision. She squinted. Green orbs trained on the tower, where - just as she had suspected - guards were in place to watch. She bit her lip and flung the curtains closed again.

"I never thought..." Ino was sitting on Sakura's bed, apparently overwhelmed by what Itachi had revealed to Sakura. Her blue eyes were wide, and her legs had trembled as she'd sunk onto Sakura's plush mattress. There she stayed as Sakura had related the truth to her; now, she seemed to be recovering, gaining animation as she probed and questioned Sakura for more details and explanations. "It makes sense, but I had never suspected..." She frowned thoughtfully. "Then again, though, I hadn't really been involved at the time. None of us were." She shook her head. "We were all so young, and our parents never spoke about it. Not when we were within earshot, I guess. And we were kept at a distance from the royalty, anyway. We barely ever played with Sasuke and Itachi before then, but after, we only saw them when we attended them at dinners and other events..." The blonde frowned. "That was probably intentional, then, huh?"

Sakura nodded.

"Especially since this 'King' seems so concerned about 'commoners' and 'gypsies.' Pfah!" Sakura flopped onto the cushiony mattress, face-first, burying her head into the fresh linens and plush comforter. "Human politics are just as twisted as merfolk politics!"

Ino laughed, despite the somewhat heavy air that clung to them like heavy weights.

"They're related, after all," she said, "If the Kyuubi legend is real."

"Yeah..."

Ino cleared her throat and continued rambling. "So, when Sasuke left to study in another kingdom... He really _left?_ As in, abandoned us to learn from the guy who killed your Dad?"

Sakura nodded into the sheets.

"Not a guy. A SNAKE."

"Okay." Ino accepted this and moved on. "All this time, we've been in the dark. We've... We've just been pawns. Even Prince Sasuke. And Duke Itachi."

"Everyone," Sakura agreed.

"Everyone," Ino murmured.

Sakura raised her head, green eyes serious.

"You know we have to go tonight."

Ino hesitated, then sighed, sinking further into Sakura's bed.

"I need more time."

"We don't HAVE any." Sakura's Siren voice was sharp and shrill. So different from her underwater voice. "Whatever he needed me for, he's not going to stop. If I don't leave tonight, he'll get what he wants and then_ kill_ me. Kill _US_."

Ino huffed, running an agitated hand through her blonde locks.

"I know," she said finally after a pause stretched between them. "But we can't take his ship alone. Sakura, I don't even know if I'll get seasick, I've never been on a boat, and-"

Creak.

"Sakura, huh?"

As one, the girls stiffened and swiveled, wide doe eyes meeting solid, half-lidded brown.

"What a drag."

"Sh-Shikamaru!" squeaked the blonde, blue eyes flickering with something Sakura couldn't give a name off the top of her head, mouth agape, an expression of horrified surprise gracing her face. "You... You EAVESDROPPER!"

"Ugh," he groaned in reply, closing the door behind him. Hands shoved in his trouser pockets, he shuffled towards them, eyes taking over them both. "I think that's the least of your worries right now."

Before Ino could react with a retort of some sort, Sakura snapped upright, and in three quick strides stood directly in front of the young man with the spiky ponytail. He was much taller than her, but she squared her shoulders and looked fearlessly up at him.

"You wouldn't have come in if you didn't have your own two pearls to share," she said.

There was a moment of silence, and Sakura saw in the boy's eyes that he was considering her words.

"Pearls of wisdom, two cents, huh?" he mumbled. The latter expression was foreign to Sakura, but she made no sign to indicate so. She continued to look at Shikamaru expectantly as he continued mulling her words over. "Yeah, I guess," he responded finally.

"Then spit it out," Ino quipped.

Shikamaru sighed, muttered something about it being 'troublesome,' and then met Sakura's apple green eyes.

"I can help you."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**A/N: Lol, well, at least they mentioned the boat this time. But why? Find out next time! *gets hit by pitchforks***

**Stars for reviewers. I'm serious. Review, and you'll see what I mean. And if you don't care much for twinkling suns, then follow or fave! I appreciate those, too! :)**

**Wow, you guys. I'm graduating soon. This is it. I'm... It's so unreal. Good luck to other seniors in the same boat as me!**


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